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Launch Your Own E-Commerce Business Today! · The Ecommerce Revolution Podcast

• 0:01
  Welcome to today's episode of the e-commerce revolution podcast
• 0:04
  where we dive into
• 0:05
  the dynamic world of e-commerce and uncover the tools and
• 0:08
  tactics that empower
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_00: today's emerging entrepreneurs.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_00: Our podcast is part of our community with the same name.
• 0:15
  The community is geared to providing emerging e-commerce
• 0:18
  entrepreneurs with courses,
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_00: content,
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_00: and coaching to help you all launch and grow successful businesses.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_00: Check us out at ecomrevolution.co.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_00: Let's get things started.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome, everybody.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_00: If you've just launched your e-commerce business,
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_00: are about to launch or even thinking about launching soon,
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_00: you'll want to pay close attention to this episode.
• 0:50
  Building an e-commerce business can be extremely challenging
• 0:54
  from idea to for sale and beyond.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_00: So we thought we'd do something special this time for today's podcast.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_00: That's right,
• 1:02
  today we are going to build a blueprint for emerging brands to
• 1:05
  take an idea to market.
• 1:06
  Every question I'm going to ask of our guests will solely be
• 1:10
  focused on building
• 1:11
  that blueprint so you can pull the transcripts if you want and
• 1:15
  literally start
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_00: building today.
• 1:17
  Speaking of our guest,
• 1:19
  today's guest is an absolute rock star in the world of e-commerce.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_00: In 2004,
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_00: 2004,
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_00: that was a long time ago,
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_00: he started his journey dropshipping hammocks,
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_00: which eventually led to the company he's a part of now,
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_00: The Gromit.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_00: Check out the show notes for a link to the Gromit.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_00: This is an amazing site.
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  Sometimes it can be referred to as the product hunt for
• 1:44
  e-commerce brands.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_00: Gromit has over 800 active products,
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_00: 3 million plus active shoppers,
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_00: and strives every day to help makers,
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_00: inventors,
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_00: and small business owners go from undiscovered to unstoppable.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_00: And hopefully that is you today.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_00: We'll add a link to Gromit in the show notes.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_00: As I mentioned, you've got to check the site out.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_00: It is absolutely amazing.
• 2:10
  And a little side note,
• 2:11
  and I love this story because it's near and dear to my heart.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_00: Our guest recently started a brand with his son, Arte Shades.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_00: Arte Shades are designed for the dedicated young athlete.
• 2:24
  There's a great video on their site that kind of walks you
• 2:27
  through the whole
• 2:28
  process of how they came up with the idea and how they found
• 2:32
  the supplier and how
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_00: they eventually took it to market.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_00: It is a great, great video.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_00: Basically a blueprint in many ways for how they built their business.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_00: We'll put a link in the show notes to that as well.
• 2:42
  You must,
• 2:43
  must watch that video on their site and get yourself a pair of shades,
• 2:47
  obviously.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_00: So without any further ado,
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_00: please welcome Greg Roulette,
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_00: the head of brand growth at The Gromit,
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_00: to the e-commerce revolution podcast.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_00: Great, great to have you here.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_01: Man, you did some homework there.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_01: 2004,
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  SPEAKER_01: Hammocks,
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_01: it was Hammocks and then I had a bird feeder site,
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_01: if I remember correctly,
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_01: doing drop shipping.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_01: My gosh, how the world has changed.
• 3:10
  Because building an e-commerce website in 2004 is not like
• 3:13
  building an e-commerce
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  SPEAKER_01: website 20 years later.
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  SPEAKER_00: It is not.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_00: It is.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_00: And I did mine in 1999 and then another one in 2003.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_00: And yes, the landscape technology.
• 3:25
  Would you agree that technology was more complicated back then
• 3:28
  and marketing might
• 3:29
  have been just a little bit easier because you didn't even have
• 3:32
  anything to market?
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  SPEAKER_00: You had no place to really market.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_00: You had Yahoo, right?
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  SPEAKER_00: You had a few other places like that, but that's it.
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  SPEAKER_01: It's crazy.
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  SPEAKER_01: It like flip-flopped, right?
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  SPEAKER_01: Because 20 years ago,
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  SPEAKER_01: it was impossible to build the site and the tech wasn't there,
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_01: but I was getting,
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  I was mostly running Yahoo traffic back then and I was getting
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  clicks for hammocks
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  SPEAKER_01: for 20 cents a click,
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  SPEAKER_01: 25 cents.
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  SPEAKER_01: Like marketing then was so easy.
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  SPEAKER_01: Now it flip-flopped.
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  Now you can build a Shopify store in an hour,
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  but you're like,
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  holy crap,
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  how do I market it?
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  SPEAKER_01: And I know that we're going to go into a lot of that today, but...
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_01: Crazy how times have changed in the last 20, 25 years.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_00: Well, it's great to have you here.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_00: Love your energy.
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  SPEAKER_00: When we first spoke, I felt this is it.
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  SPEAKER_00: He knows his stuff.
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  SPEAKER_00: He's been through it before.
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  SPEAKER_00: He's going to be the perfect person to help build that blueprint.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_00: But before we get started,
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_00: I was taking a look at your LinkedIn profile,
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  SPEAKER_00: and I'm a huge fan of quotes.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_00: I love quotes.
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  There's a quote on your LinkedIn profile,
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  and the gentleman's name,
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  is it Naidoo?
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  SPEAKER_00: Nido Kabane.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_00: Nido Kabane, okay.
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  SPEAKER_00: And the quote goes something like this, right?
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  Nothing can add more power to your life than concentrating all
• 4:38
  of your energies on
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  SPEAKER_00: a limited set of targets.
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  SPEAKER_00: Now,
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  tell me about that quote and what it means to you and then
• 4:45
  ultimately what it means
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  SPEAKER_00: to emerging e-commerce entrepreneurs out there.
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  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so first, Dr. Nito Cobain.
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  SPEAKER_01: So he is the president at High Point University.
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  SPEAKER_01: He's been a motivational speaker for the past 30, 40 years.
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  SPEAKER_01: Incredible story.
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  I helped to produce a documentary on him about a decade ago and
• 5:01
  just incredible motivator.
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  SPEAKER_01: But this quote that he said is so true is we need targets.
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  SPEAKER_01: I believe that we're goal-focused beings.
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  Like when we have a mission,
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  when we have a goal,
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  we have a reason to get up in the morning.
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  The problem that most people face is like,
• 5:15
  especially all related to e-commerce is,
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  SPEAKER_01: all right, I got an e-commerce store.
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  SPEAKER_01: Here's the 77 things that I need to do today.
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  SPEAKER_01: And how many of those things,
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_01: one,
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  get done to move the needle forward because they're dibbing and
• 5:27
  dabbing in all
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  SPEAKER_01: these different areas as opposed to,
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_01: all right,
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  SPEAKER_01: let me get my landing page up,
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  SPEAKER_01: right?
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  SPEAKER_01: Like that's my target right now.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_01: My target is let's get to a hundred sales a month.
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_01: Let's then get to a hundred sales a day as opposed to
• 5:40
  Having so many targets of I need to shoot videos and I need to
• 5:43
  do Instagram and I,
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  SPEAKER_01: well,
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_01: let's do TikTok shops.
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  SPEAKER_01: That's hot and sexy right now.
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  SPEAKER_01: And oh, I got to get my Etsy going.
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  SPEAKER_01: And all of a sudden you have no sales on TikTok.
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  SPEAKER_01: Your Etsy shop is half built.
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  SPEAKER_01: Your Facebook ad,
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_01: your room,
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  like instead of having this very specific target of what it is
• 5:57
  that we're trying to do.
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  SPEAKER_01: And it's so hard today because there are a million things.
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_01: And today I'm sure the two of us,
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_01: we're going to give you a million more things to do,
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  but find the one or two that resonate with you that I'm going
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  to go all in on those targets.
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  SPEAKER_01: Because when you have that arrow and you're aiming at that target,
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  SPEAKER_01: you know,
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  that should be the only thing in your site is that bullseye and
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  not letting
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  SPEAKER_01: distractions get to you.
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  SPEAKER_01: That is the ultimate killer of e-commerce businesses.
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  SPEAKER_01: And you said earlier, over 800 products.
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  SPEAKER_01: We're closing in at 900 right now on Gromit.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_01: The products that are at the top have very specific targets.
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  The ones that flounder at the bottom are so spread thin that
• 6:30
  they can't even send
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  SPEAKER_01: me an image because they can't even find it on their computer.
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  SPEAKER_01: And that's not who you want to be.
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  SPEAKER_01: as an e-commerce entrepreneur.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_00: Well, you literally have case studies at Gromit, right?
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  SPEAKER_00: You can literally see the ones that are gonna work.
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  And you actually mentioned that focus and remove distractions
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  in that video with your son.
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  SPEAKER_00: that you put up on the site.
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  SPEAKER_00: I mean, right, yes, distractions all around this.
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  SPEAKER_00: I mean, yes, what's the hot new thing?
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  You read about something on a blog or you listen to a podcast
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  and you hear the next,
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  SPEAKER_00: what we're gonna talk about today is going to be the facts,
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  SPEAKER_00: the true,
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  SPEAKER_00: true facts of getting a business,
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  SPEAKER_00: an e-commerce business started.
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  Doesn't mean you have to do every single one of them right now today,
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  right?
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  SPEAKER_00: You start at the beginning and work your way through to the end,
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  SPEAKER_00: but be focused,
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  SPEAKER_00: as Greg's saying.
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  SPEAKER_00: I mean, it's hard.
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  SPEAKER_00: It is hard,
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  and we have probably more distractions in our lives than we had
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  back in 2004,
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  SPEAKER_00: at least I think we do,
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  SPEAKER_00: 2003.
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  SPEAKER_00: But let's dive in.
• 7:30
  let's let's talk about building this thing so first let me set
• 7:33
  the stage greg and
• 7:34
  you can you know we'll start i'll start asking you some
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  questions around this so
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  let's say i'm an emerging e-commerce entrepreneur i want to
• 7:41
  start a business
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  selling aesthetically pleasing you know well-designed ergonomic
• 7:47
  home office
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  accessories and i want to do it direct to consumer i'm going to
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  bypass the stores
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  SPEAKER_00: i'm going to go direct to consumer
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  So with that said,
• 7:55
  maybe the products are going to be something like anti-fatigue mats.
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  SPEAKER_00: Can you make those look really cool?
• 8:00
  SPEAKER_00: Footrests, laptop stands.
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_00: I'm always looking at my laptop stand thinking,
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_00: they could have done that a little bit better,
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  SPEAKER_00: right?
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_00: Desk lamps with adjustable lighting, and all with a very theme.
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_00: And then one that's dear to my heart, cable management solutions.
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_00: I have way too many cables around.
• 8:17
  And the cable management solutions I've seen out there are not
• 8:20
  really that good
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_00: looking and they don't hide themselves too well out there.
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_00: So I have not sourced my products yet.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_00: I've got this idea, right?
• 8:30
  I have limited funds for marketing because I'm an emerging
• 8:33
  e-commerce entrepreneur.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_00: but I'm filled with excitement and enthusiasm.
• 8:37
  And now I'm here to learn about building a blueprint to launch
• 8:41
  and grow my brand.
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_00: So let's start with,
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_00: first,
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_00: maybe give me an understanding of the overall journey,
• 8:47
  kind of an overview of what e-commerce entrepreneurs should be
• 8:51
  thinking about right now.
• 8:54
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah,
• 8:54
  SPEAKER_01: so in the stage that you just described,
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  SPEAKER_01: I believe that there are two paths to building this business.
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  One is we're going to go out and buy our product,
• 9:06
  get our inventory,
• 9:07
  make a bet.
• 9:08
  SPEAKER_01: Let's say it's a cable management system.
• 9:09
  SPEAKER_01: We're going to make a bet on a cable management system,
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_01: and then we are going to use our limited resources,
• 9:14
  SPEAKER_01: which are limited,
• 9:15
  SPEAKER_01: on advertising to try to generate direct sales immediately,
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_01: right?
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_01: That is route number one.
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_01: That is very difficult because it's an outlay of cash upfront.
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  SPEAKER_01: It is an outlay of cash for ads and it is risky.
• 9:27
  SPEAKER_01: But this is what most e-commerce entrepreneurs do.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_01: They're like, cool, I found a product.
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_01: I can either white label it.
• 9:32
  SPEAKER_01: I can add my little spin to it.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_01: I can throw a logo on it.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_01: Let me order a couple hundred units.
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_01: Let me pull up a Shopify site.
• 9:37
  SPEAKER_01: Then let me run some meta ads.
• 9:38
  And then 30 days later,
• 9:40
  they're out of money and they're like,
• 9:41
  oh crap,
• 9:42
  this is really hard.
• 9:43
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 9:43
  SPEAKER_01: The other route,
• 9:44
  which is the route that I truly believe in is I want to build a
• 9:47
  media property
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  SPEAKER_01: around this topic first.
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  SPEAKER_01: And I want to gather as much data from the marketplace.
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_01: So I know exactly what product to pick.
• 9:55
  And then I have a community of people who already want this
• 9:57
  product before I bring it to market.
• 9:59
  And so I love the niche that you picked because there are so
• 10:02
  many people now who
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_01: are working from home.
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_01: If you look on anywhere,
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_01: Instagram,
• 10:06
  SPEAKER_01: TikTok,
• 10:06
  SPEAKER_01: Facebook,
• 10:07
  there are so many like sexy pictures of super clean desks and
• 10:10
  the minimalist work
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_01: from home lifestyle.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_01: There are YouTubers who dedicate.
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_01: So there is a market and an industry for this that already exists.
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_01: What is your unique spin on it?
• 10:19
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm gonna go into one thing that you said, like cable management.
• 10:22
  You don't really like all these cable management systems that
• 10:24
  are out there right now.
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_01: I would probably go to something like Amazon or look on Shopify,
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_01: go to Google,
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_01: and I would buy five,
• 10:30
  SPEAKER_01: six,
• 10:30
  SPEAKER_01: seven of these.
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_01: They're probably 20 bucks, 30 bucks, 50 bucks.
• 10:34
  SPEAKER_01: I'd spend two, $300 on research and development.
• 10:37
  SPEAKER_01: I would buy these products.
• 10:39
  SPEAKER_01: A, I would test them out, see what they do, how they work.
• 10:40
  SPEAKER_01: But here's the other side.
• 10:41
  I would be filming content along the way on every single one of
• 10:45
  these brands.
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_01: Hey guys,
• 10:47
  SPEAKER_01: I want to have the coolest,
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_01: cleanest,
• 10:49
  SPEAKER_01: sleekest,
• 10:49
  SPEAKER_01: sexiest desk out there because I love working from home,
• 10:51
  SPEAKER_01: but it is an absolute mess.
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_01: Check out my desk and how messy it is.
• 10:55
  SPEAKER_01: Guys,
• 10:55
  drop a comment and let me know the number one thing that you
• 10:57
  guys would do to clean
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_01: my desk up.
• 10:59
  SPEAKER_01: And I would start creating a community and engaging people right now.
• 11:02
  I would do this on Facebook where I probably already have
• 11:04
  friends and community or Instagram,
• 11:06
  but I would also be posting this on TikTok to try to get some
• 11:08
  viral views,
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_01: YouTube shorts,
• 11:10
  SPEAKER_01: Instagram reels,
• 11:11
  SPEAKER_01: try to get some virality,
• 11:12
  maybe LinkedIn where there's professionals out there and start
• 11:14
  building this community.
• 11:15
  SPEAKER_01: Then the next day, all right guys, so I got the Whippersnapper 1000.
• 11:18
  SPEAKER_01: It is the cable management system that,
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_01: and I tried it out and here are the three things that are wrong with it.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_01: Now you're starting to place doubt in the marketplace's mind.
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_01: You're starting to see like, oh, this might not be the one.
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_01: The next one.
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_01: Do another video.
• 11:29
  SPEAKER_01: Do another video.
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_01: All of a sudden, now you've got a couple things.
• 11:33
  SPEAKER_01: You've created content that you put out into the marketplace.
• 11:35
  SPEAKER_01: You're getting to word vomit about the problem.
• 11:37
  SPEAKER_01: You're getting better on camera.
• 11:38
  SPEAKER_01: You're creating confidence in yourself.
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_01: You're rallying the troops of people who are saying, oh, yeah, that
• 11:43
  That one wouldn't work for me either because of this problem or
• 11:45
  this problem.
• 11:46
  SPEAKER_01: Now you're getting research.
• 11:47
  So now after a week,
• 11:49
  two weeks,
• 11:49
  three weeks,
• 11:50
  maybe 30 days of doing content like this.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_01: Now you can start to look at whether it's an Alibaba,
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_01: whether it's a local inventors club,
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_01: whether whatever that is and say,
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_01: Hey,
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_01: I've tested out 10 different.
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_01: Cable management systems.
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_01: I put out videos that now have 7, 8, 9, 10,000 views.
• 12:07
  SPEAKER_01: Here's what people are saying the issues are.
• 12:09
  SPEAKER_01: Here are my problems with it.
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_01: How can we make a better version of this cable management system?
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_01: And now, again, now you start filming it.
• 12:15
  SPEAKER_01: Hey,
• 12:15
  SPEAKER_01: guys,
• 12:16
  I just had an amazing conversation with this manufacturer today
• 12:19
  that we talked
• 12:19
  about all the problems that you guys shared with these cable
• 12:21
  management companies,
• 12:23
  SPEAKER_01: and we're putting together a blueprint.
• 12:24
  SPEAKER_01: What do you guys want to see, right?
• 12:26
  SPEAKER_01: And so now you're bringing them behind the scenes.
• 12:28
  SPEAKER_01: I call this building in public.
• 12:29
  right now you you've taken them along with the problem now
• 12:33
  you're taking them along
• 12:33
  with the journey for the solution and then you're going to
• 12:35
  launch the solution so
• 12:36
  now when you order that first run of however many couple
• 12:39
  hundred a thousand
• 12:40
  whatever the moq is you already have an audience who's been
• 12:43
  watching you build this
• 12:45
  throughout the last couple weeks and hopefully you can do
• 12:48
  pre-sales from there you
• 12:49
  can you know you could run a kickstarter potentially or an
• 12:51
  indiegogo and you have
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_01: momentum here's the other thing that happens
• 12:55
  SPEAKER_01: If nobody cares at all about the cable management system,
• 12:59
  SPEAKER_01: you don't make the cable management system,
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_01: right?
• 13:02
  SPEAKER_01: Now you say, you know what?
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_01: I guess you guys don't care about cable management,
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_01: but a lot of you guys have standing desks,
• 13:07
  SPEAKER_01: right?
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_01: I want to test out the coolest mat for standing desk.
• 13:10
  And you just do this until you find the thing that hits before
• 13:13
  you go and put a
• 13:15
  SPEAKER_01: couple thousand dollars on your credit card,
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_01: before you go and ask for the loan,
• 13:18
  SPEAKER_01: before...
• 13:19
  SPEAKER_01: And now you have this media property.
• 13:21
  SPEAKER_01: And the cool thing is if you do this media property around...
• 13:24
  you know,
• 13:24
  work from home or better,
• 13:27
  you know,
• 13:28
  cool,
• 13:28
  sexy home office,
• 13:29
  whatever it is.
• 13:30
  Now you can also introduce more products over time because
• 13:33
  you're not just a cable
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_01: management company.
• 13:35
  SPEAKER_01: You're a sexy work from home desk company, whatever that is, right?
• 13:40
  SPEAKER_01: So anyway, I know I just word vomited a lot there.
• 13:42
  SPEAKER_01: I'm going to shut up and let you go.
• 13:45
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_00: So Greg, I mean, the media company idea is, I mean, right.
• 13:50
  SPEAKER_00: I say these days,
• 13:52
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 13:52
  SPEAKER_00: if you're going to be an e-commerce entrepreneur,
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_00: you have to be a content creator first,
• 13:58
  SPEAKER_00: first and foremost.
• 13:59
  And that's really what you're saying is,
• 14:00
  yes,
• 14:00
  you need to do the idea generation.
• 14:02
  SPEAKER_00: You need to go through that.
• 14:03
  SPEAKER_00: You need to do the market research,
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_00: but film it,
• 14:05
  SPEAKER_00: capture it,
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_00: get it out there,
• 14:07
  SPEAKER_00: build it in public.
• 14:09
  learn,
• 14:10
  and then you're really doing,
• 14:11
  you know,
• 14:12
  you're,
• 14:12
  you're going to make a decision.
• 14:13
  SPEAKER_00: Should I make this or not make this?
• 14:15
  SPEAKER_00: Did I get enough views on this, on this video?
• 14:17
  Did enough people comment on that particular,
• 14:20
  uh,
• 14:21
  line that I was going to work on?
• 14:22
  SPEAKER_00: If not, all right, let's put it aside and work on something else.
• 14:24
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that's a fantastic way to literally go through the idea,
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_00: the ideation to validation,
• 14:30
  SPEAKER_00: uh,
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_00: stage of this whole thing.
• 14:33
  SPEAKER_00: So that's really, we'll call that step one of the process.
• 14:36
  SPEAKER_00: And you can do that in public, um,
• 14:38
  get your socials all set up first you know get get all that
• 14:41
  taken care of start
• 14:42
  building an audience reach out to friends and family get them
• 14:45
  to join in get them
• 14:46
  to comment and then you know as you can start building out and
• 14:49
  i love that and
• 14:50
  these days content creation i'm not going to call it easy it's
• 14:53
  not you know it's a
• 14:54
  lot of work to do content creation but the technology is all
• 14:57
  around us you know i
• 14:58
  look at a camera there a camera there camera on your phone you
• 15:01
  know you that's
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_00: really all you need at the end of the day
• 15:04
  And then go on Amazon or wherever you want to go and buy some
• 15:07
  of these products.
• 15:08
  Buy the ones that you think are interesting and how could you
• 15:10
  make them better.
• 15:11
  SPEAKER_00: All right.
• 15:12
  SPEAKER_00: So that's that type.
• 15:13
  SPEAKER_00: Now, what if I need a prototype?
• 15:15
  SPEAKER_00: Let's say I've settled in.
• 15:16
  SPEAKER_00: I'm going to make a couple of these products.
• 15:20
  SPEAKER_00: ergonomic office accessories.
• 15:23
  SPEAKER_00: What if I'm gonna go the route of prototyping,
• 15:25
  SPEAKER_00: but I may not also,
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_00: from a manufacturing standpoint,
• 15:29
  SPEAKER_00: I may not want to actually manufacture,
• 15:32
  SPEAKER_00: right?
• 15:33
  SPEAKER_00: I may wanna find it from a supplier and bring it to market.
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_00: What are your thoughts on that?
• 15:39
  Some of the people who are on the grommet,
• 15:40
  they've had to go through prototyping.
• 15:42
  SPEAKER_00: What is that process like?
• 15:44
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah,
• 15:44
  SPEAKER_01: so first disclaimer is I am far from the number one world expert on this,
• 15:50
  SPEAKER_01: but if I was doing this tomorrow,
• 15:51
  SPEAKER_01: I'll walk you through exactly what I do,
• 15:52
  SPEAKER_01: both with my son's business,
• 15:54
  SPEAKER_01: when people come to the grommet,
• 15:55
  SPEAKER_01: is either you have more money and time,
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_01: or you have less money and less time.
• 16:00
  Meaning,
• 16:01
  do I have a year to prototype something and test out 20
• 16:04
  different versions of this?
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_01: Um, or do I want to get something out to the market quickly?
• 16:09
  SPEAKER_01: If I want to get something out to the market quickly,
• 16:10
  I'm probably looking for something that's currently being
• 16:13
  manufactured somewhere
• 16:14
  SPEAKER_01: and I'm going to put my logo on it.
• 16:16
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe my spin on it.
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe it's going to be cut a little differently.
• 16:19
  SPEAKER_01: So like when we did the sunglass brand with my son,
• 16:21
  SPEAKER_01: we went to Alibaba and we looked at all the different sunglass brands.
• 16:25
  SPEAKER_01: We requested samples from all the sunglass brands.
• 16:27
  We got those in and they're pretty quick,
• 16:28
  a week or two,
• 16:29
  got some samples in.
• 16:30
  SPEAKER_01: And we started playing around with them and we just said, you know what?
• 16:33
  SPEAKER_01: We want the nose to be a little smaller here.
• 16:34
  SPEAKER_01: We want to be able to pinch here.
• 16:35
  SPEAKER_01: And they were able to make those slight adjustments.
• 16:38
  We weren't able to completely craft our own pair of sunglasses
• 16:41
  from scratch.
• 16:42
  If we wanted to do that,
• 16:42
  we'd be $10,000 into tooling and our own plastic molds.
• 16:47
  SPEAKER_01: And I just didn't have,
• 16:48
  SPEAKER_01: we just,
• 16:49
  SPEAKER_01: Colt just wanted,
• 16:49
  SPEAKER_01: Hey,
• 16:49
  SPEAKER_01: I just want to make sunglasses Colt's my son.
• 16:51
  SPEAKER_01: I want to get sunglasses out.
• 16:52
  SPEAKER_01: I want to get them to the market like soon.
• 16:54
  SPEAKER_01: So that was our initial run.
• 16:55
  SPEAKER_01: Now,
• 16:56
  SPEAKER_01: if you have more time,
• 16:57
  SPEAKER_01: well,
• 16:58
  SPEAKER_01: now you can go and you can find somebody who can help draw the plans.
• 17:01
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe you want to go to the patent route.
• 17:02
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe you want like there's more development.
• 17:04
  SPEAKER_01: I am 100% not the guy to talk to about going that route.
• 17:08
  SPEAKER_01: I love that route.
• 17:09
  And I think even with the sunglass brand,
• 17:10
  that's our next step is let's build our own mold.
• 17:14
  Let's build our own and start owning more of the IP versus
• 17:17
  leveraging someone else.
• 17:18
  SPEAKER_01: But I think especially in the early stages,
• 17:21
  when you're still testing is it's not a bad thing to find
• 17:24
  something that you really
• 17:25
  SPEAKER_01: like that you can put your logo on it,
• 17:27
  SPEAKER_01: put your own packaging on it,
• 17:28
  SPEAKER_01: put your own spin and brand behind it.
• 17:30
  SPEAKER_01: And again,
• 17:31
  SPEAKER_01: see if the market wants it,
• 17:32
  SPEAKER_01: because when you do that,
• 17:33
  SPEAKER_01: your,
• 17:33
  SPEAKER_01: your MOQ,
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_01: your minimum order quantity is going to be smaller too.
• 17:36
  Like when we first ordered sunglasses,
• 17:37
  I was able to order just 300 pairs.
• 17:40
  SPEAKER_01: If I wanted to do a custom mold, they wanted like 10,000 pairs.
• 17:43
  SPEAKER_01: I'm like, Oh my God, my wife is going to kill me.
• 17:45
  SPEAKER_01: if I get 10,000 of these and put them in the house, right?
• 17:48
  SPEAKER_01: Nonetheless, the credit card bill that's gonna come with that.
• 17:50
  SPEAKER_01: So we were able to get, you know, 300 pairs.
• 17:52
  SPEAKER_01: We had built up the audience.
• 17:53
  SPEAKER_01: Like we said, we were already doing TikToks and Instagrams.
• 17:55
  We were able to sell 200 pairs in the first weekend and then
• 17:59
  get rid of the next 100 pairs.
• 18:00
  SPEAKER_01: Like, that's what we wanted to see.
• 18:01
  SPEAKER_01: Like, all right, cool.
• 18:02
  SPEAKER_01: We tested the market, very low risk.
• 18:05
  And now we're able to go back and continue to enhance and make
• 18:07
  the product better
• 18:08
  SPEAKER_01: and build with our audience.
• 18:10
  SPEAKER_01: So I usually recommend that route.
• 18:14
  SPEAKER_01: Because again, it creates momentum.
• 18:17
  SPEAKER_01: It's much less risk than trying to tool something yourself.
• 18:20
  SPEAKER_01: But there are some times, there are instances.
• 18:22
  SPEAKER_01: We had one maker on the grommet,
• 18:24
  SPEAKER_01: love her,
• 18:24
  SPEAKER_01: Nicole from Spring Rose,
• 18:26
  SPEAKER_01: who she wanted to build a bra for women that have disabilities.
• 18:30
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe they only have one arm.
• 18:31
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe they have arthritis.
• 18:33
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe they, and they can't put their bra on.
• 18:35
  SPEAKER_01: And it sounds like such a simple thing, but like that breeds confidence.
• 18:38
  SPEAKER_01: You don't want to leave the house.
• 18:40
  SPEAKER_01: You are uncomfortable all day.
• 18:42
  SPEAKER_01: Well,
• 18:42
  SPEAKER_01: it took her a year,
• 18:43
  SPEAKER_01: multiple patents,
• 18:44
  SPEAKER_01: multiple work throughs,
• 18:45
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 18:45
  SPEAKER_01: 30,
• 18:46
  SPEAKER_01: 40 different versions,
• 18:47
  SPEAKER_01: but she was building something that needed to be ADA compliant that,
• 18:50
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 18:50
  SPEAKER_01: like,
• 18:51
  SPEAKER_01: so like,
• 18:51
  SPEAKER_01: there's differences,
• 18:52
  SPEAKER_01: right?
• 18:52
  It's a difference between like,
• 18:53
  I want my doctor to have gone to medical school,
• 18:57
  right?
• 18:57
  SPEAKER_01: Versus just,
• 18:58
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 18:58
  SPEAKER_01: a guy making sunglasses,
• 18:59
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 19:00
  you can get away with a little bit of less knowledge on the
• 19:02
  expertise side.
• 19:03
  SPEAKER_01: So I know it's a little all over the place,
• 19:05
  SPEAKER_01: but I think it's,
• 19:06
  SPEAKER_01: if you have more money and time,
• 19:08
  go down that longer route and create the best product in the
• 19:11
  world and bring your
• 19:12
  SPEAKER_01: audience along with you.
• 19:13
  SPEAKER_01: But if you have a little,
• 19:14
  SPEAKER_01: like,
• 19:14
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 19:14
  SPEAKER_01: if you're putting this on a credit card,
• 19:16
  SPEAKER_01: if you're,
• 19:17
  SPEAKER_01: you want to get this out to the market,
• 19:18
  SPEAKER_01: you got to make a return much faster.
• 19:19
  SPEAKER_01: I would look for something that's already on the market.
• 19:22
  SPEAKER_01: You know,
• 19:22
  SPEAKER_01: look at an Alibaba,
• 19:23
  SPEAKER_01: look at,
• 19:23
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 19:24
  some of these different manufacturing sites and see if you can
• 19:26
  get something
• 19:27
  put out into the market maybe it's a licensing deal maybe it's
• 19:29
  going to like the
• 19:30
  hardware show or something like that and doing a licensing deal
• 19:33
  with somebody on
• 19:33
  the floor and getting that product to market as quick as
• 19:36
  possible yeah no i that's
• 19:38
  perfect and you know you said you're not the you know you're
• 19:40
  not the foremost
• 19:41
  expert but i think you literally you guys you and your son did
• 19:44
  that you did this
• 19:45
  process exactly the way you know most should do it especially
• 19:49
  if you don't have you
• 19:50
  SPEAKER_00: know you don't have those major dollars
• 19:52
  SPEAKER_00: You know, behind you, you want to start this out.
• 19:54
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, you found a partner to work with.
• 19:58
  SPEAKER_00: You found a supplier.
• 19:59
  SPEAKER_00: You were able to make those tweaks.
• 20:01
  And now the next iteration of this could be actually making
• 20:05
  your own sunglasses,
• 20:05
  right?
• 20:06
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, get there.
• 20:06
  SPEAKER_00: The fact that you guys sold 200 on a weekend, wow.
• 20:09
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, okay, we got to get into that part soon.
• 20:11
  SPEAKER_00: We're going to have to understand that whole thing.
• 20:13
  SPEAKER_00: All right,
• 20:14
  so there's that process of getting out there and doing that
• 20:16
  research and finding
• 20:18
  SPEAKER_00: the supplier,
• 20:19
  SPEAKER_00: finding the route that you're gonna take,
• 20:21
  SPEAKER_00: finding somebody you can work with and trust because obviously,
• 20:24
  SPEAKER_00: if you're gonna move inventory,
• 20:26
  you're gonna need to go back to them and buy more and you need
• 20:29
  to make sure they're
• 20:29
  SPEAKER_00: there and they're reliable and I think getting those samples,
• 20:32
  SPEAKER_00: a lot of people don't know that,
• 20:33
  SPEAKER_00: ordering samples,
• 20:34
  SPEAKER_00: you should definitely be getting the samples,
• 20:38
  SPEAKER_00: playing with them,
• 20:38
  SPEAKER_00: touching them,
• 20:39
  SPEAKER_00: feeling them,
• 20:40
  SPEAKER_00: moving them,
• 20:40
  SPEAKER_00: wearing them,
• 20:41
  SPEAKER_00: making sure they work for your business.
• 20:43
  SPEAKER_00: Now let's talk about, all right, so I found my supplier.
• 20:46
  SPEAKER_00: I found my, you know, we're going to buy the inventory.
• 20:50
  SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna bring in,
• 20:51
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 20:51
  SPEAKER_00: a few hundred units of this product,
• 20:54
  SPEAKER_00: one particular product in the space that we're going into.
• 20:57
  Now I think I need to talk and figure out branding and positioning,
• 21:01
  right?
• 21:02
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I need to identify, you know, who am I?
• 21:05
  SPEAKER_00: Who am I trying to be?
• 21:06
  SPEAKER_00: I've already,
• 21:07
  SPEAKER_00: as you mentioned,
• 21:07
  SPEAKER_00: started working on content previously,
• 21:10
  SPEAKER_00: so I may already have a little bit of brand identity,
• 21:12
  SPEAKER_00: but I don't have a full-fledged,
• 21:13
  SPEAKER_00: and I need to figure out my unique selling proposition as well.
• 21:17
  SPEAKER_00: Tell me about that process.
• 21:18
  What is involved in getting that unique selling proposition and
• 21:22
  figuring out brand identity?
• 21:23
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so again, I think there's two pieces to this puzzle.
• 21:26
  SPEAKER_01: One is in those early days,
• 21:27
  I do believe that a founder-led business is so important
• 21:31
  because you don't have the
• 21:32
  dollars like a Coca-Cola or whoever to just bully your way into
• 21:35
  the marketplace
• 21:36
  SPEAKER_01: with a new product.
• 21:37
  You are going to have to create a connection one-on-one with
• 21:40
  pretty much every
• 21:40
  SPEAKER_01: single one of your customers in those early days.
• 21:43
  And so the earlier stuff about building in public and getting
• 21:46
  out and just,
• 21:46
  SPEAKER_01: I love this idea of like word vomiting.
• 21:48
  SPEAKER_01: Like sometimes like when,
• 21:50
  SPEAKER_01: whenever I launch a new product,
• 21:51
  I try to get interviewed on as many podcasts as I can so that
• 21:54
  the host can ask me
• 21:55
  SPEAKER_01: questions and I can just word vomit answers.
• 21:57
  SPEAKER_01: Like today,
• 21:58
  SPEAKER_01: not every one of my answers is a hundred percent polished,
• 22:01
  SPEAKER_01: but by going through this,
• 22:01
  SPEAKER_01: I'm like,
• 22:02
  SPEAKER_01: oh,
• 22:03
  SPEAKER_01: that's when the audience really liked that.
• 22:04
  SPEAKER_01: Or, oh, that really worked.
• 22:06
  SPEAKER_01: When I said that it didn't really click.
• 22:08
  SPEAKER_01: I need to go back and find a different story for that.
• 22:10
  SPEAKER_01: Or, you know, whatever the case is.
• 22:11
  And so find places where you can word vomit as much as you can
• 22:14
  in the beginning because,
• 22:16
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 22:16
  SPEAKER_01: and you try to be perfect.
• 22:18
  SPEAKER_01: And that is a big problem in the early days.
• 22:20
  You're like,
• 22:20
  I got to get the perfect tagline,
• 22:22
  the perfect this,
• 22:22
  the perfect.
• 22:24
  SPEAKER_01: No one is going to remember like what your website said, like ever.
• 22:29
  SPEAKER_01: Right?
• 22:29
  SPEAKER_01: Like it just doesn't exist.
• 22:30
  But they will remember how you made them feel,
• 22:32
  the energy that you brought.
• 22:33
  SPEAKER_01: Like you and I were talking earlier, like I'm a big energy guy.
• 22:35
  SPEAKER_01: I'm big.
• 22:36
  SPEAKER_01: I'm high.
• 22:36
  SPEAKER_01: I'm fast paced.
• 22:37
  SPEAKER_01: I'm loud.
• 22:38
  SPEAKER_01: I'm energetic.
• 22:39
  SPEAKER_01: Like I want that feeling to stick with people.
• 22:41
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, that's Greg from Gromit.
• 22:42
  SPEAKER_01: He brings a ton of energy to everything that he does.
• 22:43
  SPEAKER_01: And he's got some, you know, a real track record behind it.
• 22:46
  SPEAKER_01: And he's very tactical in what he says.
• 22:48
  SPEAKER_01: And like, that's what I want people to remember.
• 22:50
  SPEAKER_01: The tagline they're going to forget.
• 22:53
  SPEAKER_01: Even with RJ Shades, with my son's sunglass brand, it's been a year now.
• 22:56
  SPEAKER_01: We've changed taglines three times.
• 22:58
  SPEAKER_01: Do you know how many customers have been like, you guys changed taglines?
• 23:01
  SPEAKER_01: What is wrong with you?
• 23:02
  SPEAKER_01: No one even knows.
• 23:03
  SPEAKER_01: They're just like, cool, they make cool sunglasses.
• 23:05
  SPEAKER_01: It's from an 11-year-old baseball player.
• 23:07
  SPEAKER_01: That's what they...
• 23:09
  SPEAKER_01: And so you don't have to be perfect in the beginning.
• 23:11
  You have to just start by putting things out in the marketplace
• 23:13
  and seeing how they
• 23:14
  SPEAKER_01: adapt to it and how you adapt to it.
• 23:16
  SPEAKER_01: The more that my son's been interviewed,
• 23:18
  the more he's like gone up to baseball players and talked about
• 23:20
  his sunglasses,
• 23:21
  SPEAKER_01: he's figuring out like,
• 23:23
  SPEAKER_01: oh,
• 23:23
  SPEAKER_01: when I say this,
• 23:24
  SPEAKER_01: their eyes light up or they get excited to open the glasses.
• 23:26
  SPEAKER_01: When I said this, they were just like, oh, cool kid.
• 23:29
  SPEAKER_01: Like, thanks, man.
• 23:29
  SPEAKER_01: You know?
• 23:30
  SPEAKER_01: And so...
• 23:31
  I think this practicing in public is so important for those
• 23:33
  early stages of a brand.
• 23:35
  SPEAKER_01: Don't get so caught up in the logo has to be perfect.
• 23:38
  SPEAKER_01: The tagline has to be perfect.
• 23:39
  SPEAKER_01: The copy has to be perfect.
• 23:41
  SPEAKER_01: Figure out through these personal interactions what the problem is,
• 23:45
  SPEAKER_01: what problem you're solving,
• 23:46
  SPEAKER_01: how you're solving it,
• 23:47
  SPEAKER_01: how it's unique in the marketplace,
• 23:48
  SPEAKER_01: the feeling.
• 23:49
  SPEAKER_01: Those things are way more important in the early days.
• 23:51
  SPEAKER_01: The brand can come later.
• 23:53
  SPEAKER_01: And the brand comes from your customers buying it and saying,
• 23:56
  SPEAKER_01: Man, I love that cable management system.
• 23:59
  SPEAKER_01: It made my office so X,
• 24:01
  SPEAKER_01: Y,
• 24:01
  SPEAKER_01: and Z.
• 24:01
  SPEAKER_01: Well,
• 24:01
  SPEAKER_01: X,
• 24:02
  SPEAKER_01: Y,
• 24:02
  SPEAKER_01: and Z,
• 24:02
  SPEAKER_01: when you start hearing it over and over and over and over again,
• 24:05
  SPEAKER_01: that becomes your tagline.
• 24:07
  SPEAKER_01: That becomes what it is that you're putting onto your website.
• 24:10
  SPEAKER_01: Now, flip side.
• 24:12
  Don't go to Fiverr and make a crappy logo that you could have
• 24:15
  made and clip art and paint.
• 24:16
  SPEAKER_01: There are so many cool places out there to get design done,
• 24:19
  SPEAKER_01: whether that's,
• 24:20
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 24:20
  SPEAKER_01: working with a freelance designer,
• 24:22
  SPEAKER_01: working with,
• 24:22
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 24:23
  SPEAKER_01: doing a contest through like 99 designs.
• 24:24
  SPEAKER_01: I use 99 designs for like literally everything.
• 24:26
  SPEAKER_01: I love,
• 24:27
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 24:27
  SPEAKER_01: cause you pay like five,
• 24:28
  600 bucks and you get like a hundred logos and you get to pick
• 24:30
  and choose.
• 24:31
  And there are so many resources out there mid journey on your phone,
• 24:34
  like an AI service.
• 24:35
  Hey,
• 24:36
  make me a cool logo with a palm tree on a computer for whatever
• 24:41
  it is.
• 24:41
  You can do all these things very,
• 24:43
  very easily,
• 24:44
  but know that you can change.
• 24:45
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, how many times do big Fortune 500 brands change their logo?
• 24:50
  SPEAKER_01: all the time, right?
• 24:51
  SPEAKER_01: It's new, it's something to talk about.
• 24:53
  SPEAKER_01: So don't get so stuck in it in those early days.
• 24:56
  I think it's so much more important to find your voice of who
• 24:59
  you are as the
• 25:00
  SPEAKER_01: founder and then who your company is and how you help your audience.
• 25:04
  To me,
• 25:04
  that's so much more important than the logo that you put on the product.
• 25:08
  SPEAKER_00: And let's remember, this is all digital.
• 25:10
  SPEAKER_00: It can all be changed.
• 25:11
  SPEAKER_00: 100%.
• 25:12
  SPEAKER_00: To your point.
• 25:12
  I mean,
• 25:13
  literally tomorrow,
• 25:14
  you gave the example of your son walking up to baseball players.
• 25:18
  Through those conversations,
• 25:20
  a unique selling proposition could be discovered.
• 25:22
  SPEAKER_00: A new one.
• 25:23
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
• 25:24
  SPEAKER_00: Interesting, I didn't look at it that way.
• 25:26
  SPEAKER_00: Go to the site,
• 25:26
  SPEAKER_00: make some changes,
• 25:27
  SPEAKER_00: send some adjustments,
• 25:28
  SPEAKER_00: there you go,
• 25:29
  SPEAKER_00: and now it's this constant iteration of who you are.
• 25:32
  SPEAKER_00: But I love, again, I'll take it back to the building in public.
• 25:36
  SPEAKER_00: So many people are afraid to build in public, right?
• 25:38
  They wanna keep their ideas quiet and secret,
• 25:40
  and I think there was a book
• 25:42
  SPEAKER_00: called Content Inc.
• 25:44
  SPEAKER_00: back in the day.
• 25:45
  SPEAKER_00: This was early days of social media.
• 25:47
  SPEAKER_00: And it talks a lot about that,
• 25:48
  SPEAKER_00: like literally build that audience before you even launch your product.
• 25:51
  SPEAKER_00: And that's exactly what you're saying to do.
• 25:54
  And then don't be afraid to make the changes and adjustments
• 25:56
  and continue to build in public.
• 25:58
  And that's how you get,
• 25:59
  well,
• 25:59
  you're a content creator really at the end of the day.
• 26:03
  So now we've got our,
• 26:04
  you know,
• 26:04
  at least what we believe is a good,
• 26:06
  unique selling proposition.
• 26:08
  SPEAKER_00: We at least understand some bits of our brand.
• 26:12
  SPEAKER_00: You know, we may make changes down the road.
• 26:14
  SPEAKER_00: Now we're ready to figure out our marketing.
• 26:15
  SPEAKER_00: And again,
• 26:16
  SPEAKER_00: we've already started doing some marketing based on,
• 26:18
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 26:19
  your philosophy of coming out there and building in public and
• 26:22
  starting early on.
• 26:23
  But we need to figure out,
• 26:24
  all right,
• 26:25
  now we need to actually move some units.
• 26:27
  SPEAKER_00: What marketing channels?
• 26:29
  SPEAKER_00: Like, where do I start looking?
• 26:30
  SPEAKER_00: They're everywhere, right?
• 26:32
  SPEAKER_00: And there's so many choices.
• 26:34
  Do I need to figure out and do I need to do a buyer persona
• 26:37
  first before I figure
• 26:38
  SPEAKER_00: out my marketing channels?
• 26:39
  What's the right move in this marketing and sales strategy side
• 26:43
  of things?
• 26:43
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I love this.
• 26:43
  So I'm gonna talk about three different pieces of kind of a
• 26:47
  go-to market strategy.
• 26:49
  SPEAKER_01: The first is hopefully as you're building in public,
• 26:52
  you are driving the people who are super interested in what
• 26:55
  you're doing to something,
• 26:57
  SPEAKER_01: right?
• 26:57
  SPEAKER_01: To an email list,
• 26:58
  SPEAKER_01: to an early bird list,
• 26:59
  SPEAKER_01: to a pre-launch list,
• 27:00
  SPEAKER_01: a list,
• 27:01
  SPEAKER_01: email,
• 27:02
  SPEAKER_01: drive all of these people to email.
• 27:05
  SPEAKER_01: And the bigger you build that email list.
• 27:06
  SPEAKER_01: Now,
• 27:06
  SPEAKER_01: when you have product in,
• 27:07
  SPEAKER_01: you send that email out and you're like,
• 27:08
  SPEAKER_01: Hey,
• 27:09
  SPEAKER_01: guess what guys,
• 27:10
  SPEAKER_01: the,
• 27:10
  SPEAKER_01: the,
• 27:10
  SPEAKER_01: the cable management system that you've been waiting for,
• 27:12
  SPEAKER_01: and we've been working on,
• 27:14
  SPEAKER_01: and you've been seeing behind the scenes,
• 27:15
  SPEAKER_01: it's finally here.
• 27:15
  SPEAKER_01: Go buy it.
• 27:16
  SPEAKER_01: Right?
• 27:16
  SPEAKER_01: So the,
• 27:17
  Your internal list is the most valuable thing that you could
• 27:21
  own as an e-commerce entrepreneur.
• 27:22
  If you're going direct to consumer,
• 27:23
  that list is the most important thing.
• 27:25
  And you can start building that before you have product,
• 27:27
  before you have inventory,
• 27:28
  all of that.
• 27:29
  SPEAKER_01: So I think that is thing number one.
• 27:31
  SPEAKER_01: Thing number two is I would tap into communities.
• 27:34
  SPEAKER_01: And so what I mean by communities is...
• 27:37
  SPEAKER_01: there is probably groups on LinkedIn and Reddit,
• 27:41
  SPEAKER_01: on Facebook,
• 27:43
  SPEAKER_01: Discord,
• 27:44
  SPEAKER_01: whatever it is,
• 27:44
  SPEAKER_01: where,
• 27:45
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 27:45
  SPEAKER_01: there's a work from home,
• 27:48
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 27:48
  SPEAKER_01: desk community somewhere.
• 27:50
  SPEAKER_01: And there's probably tens of thousands,
• 27:53
  SPEAKER_01: 20,000,
• 27:53
  SPEAKER_01: 50,000,
• 27:58
  100,000 people in those communities where you could be,
• 27:55
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 27:56
  SPEAKER_01: talking to them and like,
• 27:57
  SPEAKER_01: hey,
• 27:57
  SPEAKER_01: this is what I discovered.
• 27:58
  Like,
• 27:58
  hey,
• 27:58
  I saw you were,
• 27:59
  you know,
• 27:59
  trying to organize your desk like this.
• 28:01
  SPEAKER_01: Like,
• 28:01
  here's two or three things that I'm working on and like using
• 28:03
  and leveraging those communities.
• 28:05
  SPEAKER_01: The other thing with communities,
• 28:07
  that I've been working on getting people to do is making
• 28:12
  connections with the
• 28:13
  SPEAKER_01: admins of those communities.
• 28:14
  SPEAKER_01: So you're an admin of the community.
• 28:16
  SPEAKER_01: Hey, I'd love to do something super cool for your community.
• 28:18
  SPEAKER_01: Like,
• 28:19
  can I do a webinar about the five mistakes people make when
• 28:22
  building their home
• 28:22
  SPEAKER_01: office to be more productive or the five mistakes that are hurting your
• 28:26
  SPEAKER_01: productivity in your home office?
• 28:28
  SPEAKER_01: Like, I'd love to just do that for free.
• 28:29
  SPEAKER_01: We could do a Facebook live.
• 28:31
  SPEAKER_01: It'll be awesome.
• 28:32
  SPEAKER_01: And at the end,
• 28:32
  I'm gonna do a giveaway where I'm gonna give away five of my
• 28:35
  cable management things.
• 28:36
  right and these hosts are like you want to do that for free you
• 28:38
  want to give away
• 28:39
  stuff to my community like this is awesome um and you many
• 28:43
  times they will say yes
• 28:44
  you get to do that presentation get a ton of people on and of
• 28:46
  course what are you
• 28:46
  talking about the whole time the five problems that your
• 28:49
  product fixes right and
• 28:51
  and so you have to discuss it with the admin some will let you
• 28:53
  sell you know at the
• 28:54
  end some will like you know more of a softer offer but you do 5
• 28:58
  10 15 of these
• 28:58
  SPEAKER_01: presentations man you build your audience so
• 29:01
  so quickly by leveraging other people's audiences i think
• 29:04
  that's one of the most
• 29:05
  underrated strategies and again this works everywhere like
• 29:07
  we're doing this right
• 29:08
  now with my son we're going to all the there's travel baseball
• 29:12
  facebook groups and
• 29:13
  they're like ravid like they're crazy because especially right
• 29:16
  now it's like off
• 29:17
  season we're recording this uh in the start of summer so
• 29:20
  everybody's getting ready
• 29:21
  like where am i going to play for fall what who's got tryouts
• 29:23
  who's i hated my team
• 29:25
  i'm looking for a new coach or like whatever like all the
• 29:27
  shenanigans that go on in
• 29:28
  SPEAKER_01: kids baseball
• 29:29
  SPEAKER_01: And we're just coming in there.
• 29:30
  SPEAKER_01: Hey,
• 29:31
  can we come in and just do a really cool mindset training of
• 29:34
  like the five things
• 29:35
  SPEAKER_01: I'm teaching my 11 year old son that helped him to be a better,
• 29:38
  SPEAKER_01: better player mentally.
• 29:39
  And we want to give away,
• 29:40
  you know,
• 29:41
  five pairs of sunglasses to some of the dads that come on.
• 29:43
  SPEAKER_01: And they're all just like.
• 29:44
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 29:45
  SPEAKER_01: Like amazing.
• 29:46
  Like we don't,
• 29:47
  you know,
• 29:47
  and so these things,
• 29:48
  there's so many communities out there.
• 29:50
  That's why I started this whole conversation with,
• 29:53
  you're not selling cable management things.
• 29:55
  You're creating a media property around work from home or sleek
• 29:59
  and sexy ergonomic products.
• 30:01
  Like you're,
• 30:02
  you,
• 30:02
  you want to be a part of a community so that you can tap into them.
• 30:04
  If you're just selling cable management stuff,
• 30:06
  you're stuck in cable management land.
• 30:09
  SPEAKER_01: Um,
• 30:09
  SPEAKER_01: You want to go much bigger.
• 30:10
  SPEAKER_01: So while I sell baseball sunglasses,
• 30:12
  SPEAKER_01: what we're really selling is the mindset of an elite athlete,
• 30:15
  SPEAKER_01: the training of an elite athlete.
• 30:16
  How many more lanes are there open for us going that versus we
• 30:19
  just sell baseball sunglasses?
• 30:21
  SPEAKER_01: And so anyway, I think communities.
• 30:22
  SPEAKER_01: The third thing...
• 30:25
  That I'm going to go through and then I promise I'll shut up
• 30:26
  and take a break.
• 30:28
  Is there are incredible go to market platforms that will help
• 30:31
  you generate some momentum.
• 30:32
  SPEAKER_01: One of them self-servingly being like the grommet.
• 30:35
  SPEAKER_01: Like we live in this space where you got to zero to one.
• 30:38
  SPEAKER_01: You made your product.
• 30:39
  SPEAKER_01: You got inventory.
• 30:40
  SPEAKER_01: You can't afford to hire an agency who's going to charge you five grand,
• 30:43
  SPEAKER_01: 10 grand a month retainer.
• 30:44
  SPEAKER_01: But like you're not there yet.
• 30:46
  SPEAKER_01: How do you get that momentum?
• 30:47
  SPEAKER_01: Well,
• 30:47
  SPEAKER_01: there's platforms like Gromit,
• 30:48
  SPEAKER_01: like Amazon,
• 30:49
  like there's these marketplaces where you can put your product
• 30:52
  and find those first hundred,
• 30:54
  SPEAKER_01: 500,000 customers to get you that momentum,
• 30:57
  SPEAKER_01: to get you that market feedback and get rid of inventory.
• 30:59
  SPEAKER_01: Like that's what you need to do in the early days.
• 31:01
  SPEAKER_01: Like let's get rid of inventory.
• 31:03
  And so I think it's finding some of these marketplaces that
• 31:06
  will partner with you
• 31:07
  SPEAKER_01: to help drive customers your way and do it in a way that is very maker,
• 31:12
  SPEAKER_01: entrepreneur friendly.
• 31:13
  SPEAKER_01: Like at Gromit, we're performance only.
• 31:15
  We're free for your first week that you're on Gromit,
• 31:16
  and then we only charge you per sale.
• 31:18
  That makes the relationship really advantageous for you because
• 31:21
  you're not spending,
• 31:23
  SPEAKER_01: let's give Mark Zuckerberg 10 grand,
• 31:25
  SPEAKER_01: and hopefully we sell more inventory than that,
• 31:27
  SPEAKER_01: right?
• 31:27
  SPEAKER_01: Again,
• 31:28
  SPEAKER_01: Meta's great,
• 31:29
  SPEAKER_01: but at those early days when you don't have dollars to throw away,
• 31:32
  SPEAKER_01: you want to find these platforms you can partner with.
• 31:35
  SPEAKER_01: One, build your email list.
• 31:36
  SPEAKER_01: Two,
• 31:36
  leverage communities and get your way into partnerships and
• 31:40
  leverage other people's audiences.
• 31:41
  SPEAKER_01: And then three,
• 31:41
  find these platforms that will allow you to generate that
• 31:44
  momentum on very
• 31:45
  SPEAKER_01: maker-friendly terms.
• 31:47
  SPEAKER_00: I mean...
• 31:49
  SPEAKER_00: Low to no cost right here.
• 31:50
  SPEAKER_00: Those are three low to no cost, just effort, right?
• 31:53
  SPEAKER_00: Putting in that effort and finding what you need to find out there.
• 31:57
  SPEAKER_00: It's so funny.
• 31:57
  If you think back to 2004 when you started your first
• 32:01
  e-commerce business,
• 32:02
  SPEAKER_00: I'm sure you were told,
• 32:04
  SPEAKER_00: email marketing,
• 32:04
  SPEAKER_00: build a list,
• 32:05
  SPEAKER_00: right?
• 32:06
  SPEAKER_00: We're still being told, build a list.
• 32:08
  SPEAKER_00: Literally, we will be told, build a list until the end of time.
• 32:12
  SPEAKER_01: It's really funny.
• 32:13
  SPEAKER_01: I just did a video on this of newsletters are sexy again.
• 32:17
  SPEAKER_01: Everybody bought the newsletter.
• 32:18
  SPEAKER_00: I saw that.
• 32:19
  SPEAKER_01: Dude, I've been doing newsletters for 20-something years, man.
• 32:21
  SPEAKER_01: This is great.
• 32:23
  SPEAKER_01: And pre that, I came from the direct mail world even before this.
• 32:26
  SPEAKER_01: It was all about your house list.
• 32:28
  And then you would send physical mail to the people who bought
• 32:31
  your products and
• 32:32
  SPEAKER_01: try to get them to board.
• 32:32
  SPEAKER_01: I'm just like, this is in the Stone Age.
• 32:35
  SPEAKER_01: They were probably just like, who bought this?
• 32:36
  SPEAKER_01: Who bought the sheep last time?
• 32:37
  SPEAKER_01: Let's go sell them more sheep, right?
• 32:39
  SPEAKER_01: And it's just wild.
• 32:40
  SPEAKER_00: And people are selling, right?
• 32:42
  SPEAKER_00: People are selling their newsletters, building and selling newsletters.
• 32:46
  SPEAKER_00: Quite an interesting business, but definitely down the email.
• 32:49
  But I love the community idea,
• 32:51
  getting out there and meeting community admins.
• 32:53
  SPEAKER_00: And you're right, giving out that free content.
• 32:55
  I'll do a webinar on a particular topic and then maybe giving
• 32:58
  out some free product.
• 32:59
  SPEAKER_00: What a great way.
• 33:00
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, what did that cost you?
• 33:01
  It cost you four or five products out there,
• 33:06
  but people have them now in their hands.
• 33:08
  SPEAKER_00: They're using them.
• 33:10
  SPEAKER_00: Ask for a review.
• 33:11
  SPEAKER_00: They got something for free.
• 33:13
  SPEAKER_00: Ask for a review.
• 33:13
  We'd love for you to post a review on our site once you get a
• 33:16
  chance to try out the
• 33:17
  SPEAKER_00: product that we just sent you.
• 33:19
  SPEAKER_00: So great, great ideas.
• 33:20
  SPEAKER_00: All right, so I've got my low to no cost marketing game plan.
• 33:26
  SPEAKER_00: including going onto the grommet,
• 33:29
  SPEAKER_00: getting the product out there,
• 33:30
  SPEAKER_00: which I think is fantastic and an amazing opportunity to do.
• 33:34
  SPEAKER_00: But let's talk now.
• 33:35
  SPEAKER_00: I'm ready to launch.
• 33:37
  There's some pre-launch activities that I have to go through to
• 33:41
  get that successful launch,
• 33:42
  SPEAKER_00: launch execution.
• 33:44
  SPEAKER_00: I've already hopefully built an audience.
• 33:46
  SPEAKER_00: I've got my email list.
• 33:47
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe my email list is going to be part of my launch strategy.
• 33:50
  SPEAKER_00: Talk to me about
• 33:51
  launching successfully people have this notion that you know
• 33:54
  you push a button and
• 33:55
  things happen well maybe it's not exactly like that right
• 33:58
  that's not what happens
• 33:59
  give me your perspective come on like um yeah i think the
• 34:03
  fireworks we can get
• 34:04
  fireworks behind this so right you know so i want to talk about
• 34:07
  one of the most
• 34:08
  underrated things that most business owners don't think about
• 34:13
  during the launch
• 34:14
  SPEAKER_01: process and
• 34:16
  SPEAKER_01: It is the offer.
• 34:17
  I think so many people get the offer wrong,
• 34:20
  and this makes all the difference in the world.
• 34:21
  SPEAKER_01: And when I think most e-commerce business owners think about offers,
• 34:25
  SPEAKER_01: they think,
• 34:25
  SPEAKER_01: all right,
• 34:26
  SPEAKER_01: I'm selling this water bottle.
• 34:28
  SPEAKER_01: It's $24.99, and it comes in three colors.
• 34:32
  SPEAKER_01: That's their whole offer.
• 34:33
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm just like,
• 34:34
  SPEAKER_01: Oh my God,
• 34:34
  like you are completely missing the boat because you've got a
• 34:37
  thousand of these
• 34:38
  SPEAKER_01: shaker bottles in your garage.
• 34:39
  SPEAKER_01: We need to get rid of a lot of these shaker bottles.
• 34:42
  SPEAKER_01: What is the, what is the true offer that we want to, that we want to do?
• 34:45
  So you asked earlier,
• 34:46
  like,
• 34:46
  how did I sell 200 pairs of sunglasses in a weekend?
• 34:49
  SPEAKER_01: Well, we sold a package called the triple play.
• 34:52
  SPEAKER_01: We sold one for $50.
• 34:54
  SPEAKER_01: We sold three different colors for a hundred dollars.
• 34:57
  SPEAKER_01: Guess which one we sold?
• 34:59
  SPEAKER_01: Everyone bought the three for a hundred.
• 35:01
  SPEAKER_01: It doubled our average order value.
• 35:03
  SPEAKER_01: So now instead of a customer spending 50, they were spending a hundred.
• 35:06
  SPEAKER_01: They were getting three pairs of glasses.
• 35:08
  SPEAKER_01: So the value was so much better for them.
• 35:10
  SPEAKER_01: And I moved inventory in two days.
• 35:12
  SPEAKER_01: It was like this irresistible offer that they couldn't live without.
• 35:15
  And so my challenge to you is like,
• 35:18
  how can you create an offer that someone can't say no to?
• 35:21
  SPEAKER_01: And
• 35:22
  And really spend time thinking about this because this is the
• 35:25
  difference between
• 35:25
  selling 20 shakers on launch day and 100 shakers on launch day
• 35:30
  to the same number
• 35:31
  SPEAKER_01: of customers.
• 35:33
  SPEAKER_01: That is the big difference.
• 35:34
  SPEAKER_01: You might only have 25 people who buy your shaker on day one,
• 35:37
  SPEAKER_01: but are they only buying one shaker?
• 35:39
  SPEAKER_01: Are they buying two shakers?
• 35:40
  SPEAKER_01: Are they buying five shakers for their whole family?
• 35:43
  SPEAKER_01: Substitute that for whatever it is, going back to cable management.
• 35:46
  do I just need one table system or do I have a home office and
• 35:51
  I have my actual
• 35:52
  SPEAKER_01: office and I have,
• 35:53
  SPEAKER_01: my wife has a station over here.
• 35:54
  SPEAKER_01: I need a bundle, right?
• 35:56
  Or do I break out the product and we have like two of these
• 35:59
  types of cable thingies
• 36:00
  SPEAKER_01: and three of these types,
• 36:01
  SPEAKER_01: uh,
• 36:02
  Rapid Storage is a brand that's on the Gromit and they have
• 36:06
  four different bundles
• 36:08
  of cable management and it starts at like $12.99 all the way up
• 36:11
  to $99.99.
• 36:12
  We sell more than $99.99 because it's got a little bit of
• 36:15
  everything and it's the whole system.
• 36:18
  SPEAKER_01: And I really want people to think about the offer.
• 36:20
  SPEAKER_01: So the offer is the price.
• 36:22
  SPEAKER_01: How much is the thing?
• 36:23
  SPEAKER_01: How many of those things?
• 36:24
  SPEAKER_01: So there's bundle strategies.
• 36:26
  SPEAKER_01: Buy one, buy two, and get free shipping.
• 36:28
  SPEAKER_01: Buy three and get one free.
• 36:30
  SPEAKER_01: There's all these different strategies of bundles.
• 36:34
  And the objection I get all the time is,
• 36:35
  well,
• 36:35
  I only have one cup in one color.
• 36:37
  SPEAKER_01: Like, how can I, we'll just buy bundle more of the same.
• 36:40
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe they want three of those cups.
• 36:42
  SPEAKER_01: Like they try to make it harder.
• 36:43
  SPEAKER_01: They're like, well, I don't have three different colors.
• 36:45
  SPEAKER_01: I don't like, cool.
• 36:46
  SPEAKER_01: Just buy more of the same.
• 36:47
  SPEAKER_01: I think it is a bundle strategy.
• 36:49
  SPEAKER_01: Two is, can you package them up?
• 36:50
  SPEAKER_01: Like what we did with the sunglasses was three different colors.
• 36:53
  SPEAKER_01: They got a black color.
• 36:54
  a pair they got a white pair and they got a pink pair right so
• 36:56
  they got three
• 36:57
  different pairs at the same time the other thing is like do you
• 36:59
  have a bundle where
• 37:01
  it is the cable management system but they're also getting a
• 37:04
  ergonomic mouse pad
• 37:06
  and like something else and you're bundling three different two
• 37:09
  or three different
• 37:09
  products together so think about your offer in terms of what
• 37:13
  else do they get do
• 37:13
  SPEAKER_01: they get something free with purchase so
• 37:16
  I did a lot of work with Dan Kennedy from the direct response
• 37:18
  side forever.
• 37:19
  SPEAKER_01: And he was working with sports illustrated and the magazine was,
• 37:23
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 37:23
  SPEAKER_01: this is in the early eighties.
• 37:25
  SPEAKER_01: The magazine was, was on a crash course.
• 37:27
  SPEAKER_01: No one wanted the magazine.
• 37:29
  SPEAKER_01: And all of a sudden this guy in his office said,
• 37:32
  SPEAKER_01: well,
• 37:32
  SPEAKER_01: I got these,
• 37:32
  SPEAKER_01: like,
• 37:33
  SPEAKER_01: I got like 50 of these phones with footballs on them.
• 37:35
  SPEAKER_01: Like, could we just, could we just give them away?
• 37:38
  And so they ran a two minute TV commercial where you got the
• 37:40
  free football phone
• 37:42
  SPEAKER_01: with your subscription to sports illustrated.
• 37:44
  SPEAKER_01: They sold three,
• 37:45
  SPEAKER_01: thousands and thousands of phones on the first day the commercial ran.
• 37:50
  SPEAKER_01: They only had like 100 of them.
• 37:51
  They ended up doing 3 million subscriptions of Sports
• 37:55
  Illustrated in one year due
• 37:57
  SPEAKER_01: to the football phone.
• 37:58
  So it's finding that offer that's like everybody wanted the
• 38:02
  football phone,
• 38:03
  SPEAKER_01: but they were buying the subscription to Sports Illustrated.
• 38:05
  So are they buying your shaker cup because of the cup or
• 38:08
  because of the free doodad
• 38:09
  SPEAKER_01: that went along with it?
• 38:11
  SPEAKER_01: You know, in the case of...
• 38:13
  SPEAKER_01: Cable management, here's the crazy thing is it could also be education.
• 38:17
  SPEAKER_01: It could be a course about how to set up your office,
• 38:19
  SPEAKER_01: a free $49 productivity home office setup course,
• 38:23
  SPEAKER_01: right?
• 38:23
  SPEAKER_01: That you teach, you just do videos.
• 38:25
  SPEAKER_01: Guess how much cost that is?
• 38:27
  SPEAKER_01: Zero, right?
• 38:29
  So it could be a $49 value,
• 38:32
  a $99 value,
• 38:32
  but it doesn't cut into your cogs.
• 38:34
  SPEAKER_01: It doesn't cut into your profit margins.
• 38:36
  SPEAKER_01: And so there's so many things you could do with that.
• 38:38
  SPEAKER_01: What's your money back guarantee?
• 38:39
  SPEAKER_01: Is it a 30-day, 60-day, 90-day?
• 38:41
  SPEAKER_01: Is it lifetime?
• 38:41
  SPEAKER_01: Is it ironclad?
• 38:42
  SPEAKER_01: Is it no questions asked?
• 38:45
  SPEAKER_01: Do you have...
• 38:46
  SPEAKER_01: You know, social proofing.
• 38:47
  SPEAKER_01: Do you have, what's the urgency and scarcity that you have?
• 38:50
  SPEAKER_01: Do you, like when we did the sunglasses, we were like, we only got 300.
• 38:53
  SPEAKER_01: That's all we ordered.
• 38:54
  SPEAKER_01: Literally, that's all we have.
• 38:55
  SPEAKER_01: And so it was like, I want to buy it now.
• 38:56
  SPEAKER_01: So they don't sell out.
• 38:58
  SPEAKER_01: Is there urgency?
• 38:59
  Hey,
• 38:59
  we're only giving away the football phone if you order by Friday,
• 39:02
  right?
• 39:02
  SPEAKER_01: Give them a reason to buy.
• 39:04
  SPEAKER_01: Why do I have to buy your product now?
• 39:06
  SPEAKER_01: All of these things go into your offer.
• 39:08
  SPEAKER_01: And the more that you can spend time on your offer, right?
• 39:11
  And I think it's what e-commerce entrepreneurs spend the least
• 39:13
  amount of time doing.
• 39:14
  SPEAKER_01: They say, all right, my cogs on this cup are $4.99.
• 39:17
  SPEAKER_01: I've been told by some guy somewhere that I need a Forex margin,
• 39:20
  SPEAKER_01: so I'm gonna charge 20 bucks for the cup.
• 39:22
  SPEAKER_01: That's their whole offer strategy, right?
• 39:24
  SPEAKER_01: That is a huge,
• 39:26
  huge thing that is going to determine the success or failure of
• 39:29
  your launch is
• 39:30
  figuring out your offer strategy and how to make it so
• 39:33
  irresistible and sexy for
• 39:35
  SPEAKER_01: your customers that they just have to say yes.
• 39:38
  SPEAKER_01: And the last thing I'll say is it doesn't have to be a discount.
• 39:42
  SPEAKER_01: You know, it doesn't have to be 20% off 50% off.
• 39:46
  SPEAKER_01: It doesn't have to be that.
• 39:47
  SPEAKER_01: How do you add more value?
• 39:48
  SPEAKER_01: How do you make it more valuable for the shopper?
• 39:50
  SPEAKER_01: And then you don't have to be a discount brand.
• 39:52
  SPEAKER_01: It could be a discount, right?
• 39:54
  SPEAKER_01: In the case of the sunglasses,
• 39:55
  SPEAKER_01: but it was buy more and get a discount buy more and get free shipping.
• 39:58
  SPEAKER_01: Here's the free shipping threshold.
• 40:00
  Like really spend time on this and you will have a much more
• 40:03
  successful launch.
• 40:04
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I love it.
• 40:05
  SPEAKER_00: A lot of times when I'm doing coaching in the community,
• 40:08
  we just look at traffic and then we look at what they've been
• 40:11
  doing offer wise and
• 40:13
  SPEAKER_00: trying to show them if you literally,
• 40:15
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 40:16
  SPEAKER_00: bundled this,
• 40:17
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 40:18
  SPEAKER_00: put together a better offer.
• 40:19
  SPEAKER_00: And if your traffic stayed exactly the same,
• 40:22
  SPEAKER_00: you already increased your,
• 40:23
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 40:23
  SPEAKER_00: if you increase your average order value,
• 40:25
  SPEAKER_00: you're going to increase your sales,
• 40:27
  SPEAKER_00: your revenue,
• 40:28
  SPEAKER_00: everything is going to go up off of
• 40:30
  SPEAKER_00: you know, the same amount of traffic in there.
• 40:32
  SPEAKER_00: So I think that offer strategy applies perfectly to launch day too.
• 40:36
  SPEAKER_00: And I love the fact that you and your son thought this out,
• 40:39
  SPEAKER_00: said,
• 40:39
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 40:40
  SPEAKER_00: let's get three,
• 40:40
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 40:41
  SPEAKER_00: Costco does it a lot too,
• 40:42
  SPEAKER_00: right?
• 40:42
  SPEAKER_00: You walk into Costco,
• 40:44
  SPEAKER_00: it's,
• 40:44
  SPEAKER_00: you get,
• 40:45
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 40:45
  SPEAKER_00: three coffee cups,
• 40:46
  SPEAKER_00: three coffee mugs instead of one.
• 40:48
  SPEAKER_00: And like, do I really need?
• 40:50
  SPEAKER_00: Well, yeah, sure.
• 40:50
  SPEAKER_00: My wife can have one.
• 40:51
  SPEAKER_00: I can have one.
• 40:52
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 40:52
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe my son will put smoothies in it.
• 40:53
  SPEAKER_00: All right, cool.
• 40:54
  SPEAKER_00: I'll just buy all three of these.
• 40:55
  SPEAKER_00: It's a good bundle offer.
• 40:57
  SPEAKER_00: So I love that.
• 40:58
  SPEAKER_00: All right, so now we've launched.
• 41:01
  SPEAKER_00: Now we need to move into what we call post-launch, right?
• 41:03
  SPEAKER_00: Post-launch growth, getting customer feedback.
• 41:08
  We got feedback in our early days when we were going through
• 41:12
  ideation process,
• 41:13
  SPEAKER_00: but right now we need to figure out,
• 41:16
  SPEAKER_00: do people like our products?
• 41:16
  SPEAKER_00: They're in their hands.
• 41:18
  SPEAKER_00: How do we get reviews?
• 41:19
  SPEAKER_00: What do we do?
• 41:20
  SPEAKER_00: How do we scale this thing up?
• 41:21
  SPEAKER_00: What are your thoughts on this particular side of the blueprint?
• 41:24
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so I think this actually starts with packaging.
• 41:27
  So the first thing that I wanna talk about is when you ship
• 41:31
  your product to someone,
• 41:32
  SPEAKER_01: are you empowering your shopper to do some of that post transaction,
• 41:38
  SPEAKER_01: post marketing for you?
• 41:40
  SPEAKER_01: So what we've done on the sunglass side is we have a card.
• 41:45
  SPEAKER_01: On the front side, it's like, thanks for your order.
• 41:47
  SPEAKER_01: It's got a cool picture of it.
• 41:49
  SPEAKER_01: On the backside, it has three QR codes.
• 41:51
  One for customer support,
• 41:53
  one to subscribe to our YouTube channel,
• 41:56
  and one to leave us a review.
• 41:57
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 41:58
  And so right on the card and then under it is just a blank like
• 42:01
  white space where I have my son.
• 42:03
  SPEAKER_01: He's just,
• 42:03
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 42:03
  SPEAKER_01: he writes like a thank you note,
• 42:04
  SPEAKER_01: like thanks for your order or whatever it is.
• 42:06
  But we're using the packaging to try to drive people to
• 42:10
  subscribe to our YouTube channel.
• 42:11
  We're using the packaging to get people to leave reviews and
• 42:14
  get people to like
• 42:15
  SPEAKER_01: take photos of them wearing the glasses so that,
• 42:17
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 42:17
  SPEAKER_01: obviously we want to leverage that in what it is that we do.
• 42:20
  SPEAKER_01: So I think that that's one.
• 42:22
  SPEAKER_01: So packaging is super important.
• 42:24
  SPEAKER_01: Don't just throw this in a box and ship it to someone.
• 42:27
  SPEAKER_01: What are you using in your packaging to get someone to say,
• 42:29
  SPEAKER_01: you know what,
• 42:30
  SPEAKER_01: I am going to go leave a review because you made it really easy to,
• 42:33
  SPEAKER_01: or there's an incentive to.
• 42:34
  SPEAKER_01: So thinking through that is really important from the packaging side.
• 42:38
  SPEAKER_01: Two is obviously email, right?
• 42:40
  SPEAKER_01: So you get an order,
• 42:41
  SPEAKER_01: they should be added to your email list,
• 42:43
  SPEAKER_01: and you should have a post-purchase flow.
• 42:44
  SPEAKER_01: That's like email, like e-commerce email 101.
• 42:47
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 42:47
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks for your purchase.
• 42:48
  SPEAKER_01: Leave us a review.
• 42:49
  SPEAKER_01: Hey, your order's on the way.
• 42:50
  SPEAKER_01: Here's tracking and shipping, setting expectations.
• 42:52
  SPEAKER_01: Do you want them to join a community?
• 42:54
  SPEAKER_01: What do you want them to do after purchase?
• 42:57
  SPEAKER_01: The third thing,
• 42:58
  SPEAKER_01: which is the least scalable thing,
• 43:00
  but I think one of the most important things you could do at
• 43:02
  the early stages,
• 43:04
  SPEAKER_01: is physically calling or texting your customers.
• 43:08
  SPEAKER_01: So we've done this,
• 43:10
  SPEAKER_01: I've done this in multiple businesses now is I get this,
• 43:13
  SPEAKER_01: I have a zappier thing that as soon as the shipping,
• 43:16
  like is said that it's like been dropped off by USPS or FedEx
• 43:19
  or whatever,
• 43:20
  it sends a zap into my Slack and it shoots me that person's
• 43:23
  contact information.
• 43:24
  And then I know that you got the package today and I get a
• 43:27
  little reminder to call
• 43:28
  SPEAKER_01: you the next day.
• 43:29
  SPEAKER_01: And I would either do it myself.
• 43:31
  SPEAKER_01: I also had an assistant do it at a time and we would call it,
• 43:34
  SPEAKER_01: Hey,
• 43:34
  SPEAKER_01: just want to make sure you got the product.
• 43:36
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, did you have any issues with it?
• 43:37
  SPEAKER_01: Like, did you, were you able to open it?
• 43:39
  SPEAKER_01: Like,
• 43:39
  SPEAKER_01: did you,
• 43:39
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 43:40
  SPEAKER_01: whatever the case is,
• 43:40
  SPEAKER_01: I used to sell this video planner and I'd be like,
• 43:42
  SPEAKER_01: Hey,
• 43:42
  SPEAKER_01: like,
• 43:43
  SPEAKER_01: did you get your video planner?
• 43:44
  SPEAKER_01: Did you have a chance to shoot your first video?
• 43:46
  SPEAKER_01: Like what limitations or roadblocks do you have?
• 43:48
  SPEAKER_01: Like whatever it was.
• 43:49
  SPEAKER_01: And I was getting all this customer feedback, um,
• 43:52
  SPEAKER_01: For some of my businesses,
• 43:53
  SPEAKER_01: I would use it as an upsell opportunity because they would tell me,
• 43:55
  SPEAKER_01: like,
• 43:55
  SPEAKER_01: hey,
• 43:55
  SPEAKER_01: here's my frustration with this.
• 43:56
  SPEAKER_01: Well, cool.
• 43:57
  SPEAKER_01: Do you know that we have this ultra deluxe package, whatever it is?
• 44:00
  SPEAKER_01: But we would call and get real-time feedback.
• 44:03
  SPEAKER_00: Wow.
• 44:04
  SPEAKER_00: What a concept, Greg.
• 44:06
  SPEAKER_00: The phone.
• 44:07
  SPEAKER_00: The phone.
• 44:08
  SPEAKER_01: Who knew in this world?
• 44:10
  SPEAKER_01: And then the last thing that I'll say on this,
• 44:12
  SPEAKER_01: and I think this is,
• 44:13
  SPEAKER_01: again,
• 44:13
  SPEAKER_01: going back to content creation,
• 44:14
  SPEAKER_01: is how can you allow your shoppers to create content for you?
• 44:18
  There's this whole UGC world that's out there where you're
• 44:20
  trying to incentivize
• 44:21
  SPEAKER_01: your customers to like create videos and stuff for you.
• 44:23
  I find it even easier of just like,
• 44:24
  hey,
• 44:25
  I know you just bought the sunglasses.
• 44:27
  SPEAKER_01: Do you want to maybe jump on Zoom for like five minutes?
• 44:30
  And Colt can ask you three questions about the glasses and why
• 44:32
  you bought them.
• 44:33
  SPEAKER_01: And we'll put that up on our YouTube channel.
• 44:35
  SPEAKER_01: And they're like, what?
• 44:37
  SPEAKER_01: You want to interview me?
• 44:38
  SPEAKER_01: Whatever it is.
• 44:39
  SPEAKER_01: And then she's like, hey, thanks so much for buying Arte Shades.
• 44:42
  SPEAKER_01: Why did you buy them?
• 44:44
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, they just looked really cool.
• 44:45
  SPEAKER_01: I saw this.
• 44:45
  SPEAKER_01: And they basically give you that glowing testimonial or whatever it is.
• 44:49
  SPEAKER_01: And then we chop that up.
• 44:51
  We edit it and we put it on YouTube or we can leverage it for
• 44:53
  ads or whatever the case.
• 44:55
  But we make it so easy for them and we make the customer feel
• 44:57
  like the star.
• 44:59
  SPEAKER_01: They're the celebrity, right?
• 45:00
  SPEAKER_01: It's not us.
• 45:01
  SPEAKER_01: It's not about us anymore.
• 45:02
  And this is where I think brand comes into play is like we're
• 45:04
  letting our shoppers
• 45:05
  SPEAKER_01: be the stars of the movie.
• 45:08
  SPEAKER_01: And so,
• 45:09
  SPEAKER_01: yeah,
• 45:09
  SPEAKER_01: so really quickly,
• 45:10
  SPEAKER_01: that's how I would think about post-purchase,
• 45:13
  SPEAKER_01: both marketing opportunities,
• 45:15
  SPEAKER_01: review opportunities,
• 45:15
  SPEAKER_01: feedback opportunities in an early stage business.
• 45:19
  yeah i love you know the phone idea i mean first of all
• 45:23
  nobody's expecting a phone
• 45:24
  call right um you're using automation uh and for anybody who
• 45:28
  doesn't know what
• 45:29
  zapier is we'll put a link to zapier in the in the show notes
• 45:32
  um to get that uh to
• 45:34
  get that information in your hands because otherwise right
• 45:36
  you'd have to dig
• 45:37
  SPEAKER_00: through some information and try to pull it you may forget
• 45:39
  Now it's just really like in your inbox and,
• 45:42
  hey,
• 45:43
  I got to make a phone call.
• 45:44
  SPEAKER_00: And they're surprised to hear.
• 45:45
  And they're also it catches them off guard,
• 45:48
  especially in this day and age.
• 45:50
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 45:50
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 45:52
  SPEAKER_00: You know,
• 45:52
  SPEAKER_00: that idea of bringing somebody on Zoom,
• 45:54
  SPEAKER_00: it's almost like,
• 45:55
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 45:55
  SPEAKER_00: the focus group,
• 45:56
  SPEAKER_00: right?
• 45:56
  The post purchase focus group with the idea that you're going
• 45:59
  to get some user
• 46:00
  SPEAKER_00: generated content,
• 46:01
  SPEAKER_00: the UGC information from them.
• 46:03
  and then yes now you've built a media company you are making
• 46:06
  your customer the star
• 46:09
  of your media company and your your movie so to speak in this
• 46:12
  case great great
• 46:13
  ideas and again low to no cost right just some time zoom
• 46:17
  doesn't cost you much you
• 46:18
  can even do it on the free zoom account um do it on google meet
• 46:22
  if you want to um
• 46:23
  but uh all of these things are doable and now you have
• 46:26
  engagement with your
• 46:27
  SPEAKER_00: customer they're going to remember you because guess what
• 46:29
  SPEAKER_00: Your competition probably didn't do that.
• 46:31
  SPEAKER_00: Your competition didn't make those phone calls to them.
• 46:33
  SPEAKER_00: So fantastic.
• 46:35
  SPEAKER_00: All right.
• 46:35
  SPEAKER_00: So now I'm getting information from customers.
• 46:38
  SPEAKER_00: I'm getting some feedback in there.
• 46:40
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I want to work on building some loyalty.
• 46:43
  I want people to come back and buy more cable management
• 46:47
  products from me.
• 46:48
  SPEAKER_00: What is my process in building that strong customer loyalty long term?
• 46:53
  SPEAKER_00: Do I need a loyalty program or can I do it some other way?
• 46:56
  SPEAKER_01: So I have no issue with like loyalty programs.
• 46:59
  There's cashback programs that are out there today,
• 47:01
  but I still believe in it.
• 47:03
  SPEAKER_01: I sound like a broken record.
• 47:04
  SPEAKER_01: I go back to the same things is take care of your people.
• 47:07
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 47:07
  SPEAKER_01: And so by doing these zoom interviews and like posting that content,
• 47:10
  like you've made a fan for life where a lot of early e-commerce
• 47:14
  companies struggle
• 47:15
  SPEAKER_01: with this is,
• 47:16
  SPEAKER_01: uh,
• 47:17
  SPEAKER_01: their email list.
• 47:18
  SPEAKER_01: They only send an email out when they want someone to buy something.
• 47:21
  SPEAKER_01: Hey, guess what?
• 47:21
  SPEAKER_01: It's Memorial Day, 20% off.
• 47:23
  SPEAKER_01: Hey, guess what?
• 47:23
  SPEAKER_01: It's Father's Day.
• 47:24
  SPEAKER_01: Get our, buy our stuff, buy our stuff, buy our stuff.
• 47:26
  SPEAKER_01: And every email from them is just buy our stuff.
• 47:29
  SPEAKER_01: And that's the email e-commerce playbook.
• 47:31
  SPEAKER_01: A much better playbook is just bringing people along with,
• 47:35
  SPEAKER_01: again,
• 47:35
  SPEAKER_01: it's building in public,
• 47:36
  SPEAKER_01: but just bringing them along with you through this process of,
• 47:38
  SPEAKER_01: Hey, you know what?
• 47:39
  SPEAKER_01: I just interviewed John yesterday.
• 47:40
  SPEAKER_01: He bought a pair of our glasses and he like, he absolutely loved them.
• 47:43
  He wore them in a tournament last weekend and they won the
• 47:45
  whole freaking tournament.
• 47:46
  SPEAKER_01: It was the first time they ever won their baseball tournament.
• 47:49
  SPEAKER_01: How cool is that?
• 47:50
  SPEAKER_01: We just love, we just wanted to send a big shout out to John.
• 47:52
  SPEAKER_01: Hey,
• 47:52
  if you played in your tournament this weekend and wore a pair
• 47:54
  of Arte shades,
• 47:55
  SPEAKER_01: make sure you tag us on Instagram.
• 47:57
  SPEAKER_01: Let us know because we'd love to feature you guys in the newsletter too.
• 48:00
  SPEAKER_01: Boom.
• 48:01
  SPEAKER_01: No hard pitch,
• 48:02
  SPEAKER_01: no hard sale,
• 48:02
  SPEAKER_01: but it does generate sales because other people are like,
• 48:05
  SPEAKER_01: oh,
• 48:05
  SPEAKER_01: John was wearing a cool pair of the pink ones.
• 48:08
  SPEAKER_01: I don't have the pink ones.
• 48:09
  SPEAKER_01: Let me go check those out.
• 48:10
  SPEAKER_01: And it just builds this connection with the audience.
• 48:13
  We do it like every email is actually written in the RJ Shades
• 48:16
  from my son's point of view.
• 48:17
  SPEAKER_01: And it's just like, hey, I played this tournament this weekend.
• 48:19
  SPEAKER_01: Hey, I went four for six.
• 48:21
  SPEAKER_01: I threw a perfect game this week, like whatever it is.
• 48:23
  SPEAKER_01: Or I struggled this weekend.
• 48:24
  SPEAKER_01: It was tough.
• 48:25
  And here's a mental skill that I leverage to overcome this and
• 48:29
  get back in the box
• 48:30
  SPEAKER_01: and whatever.
• 48:30
  SPEAKER_01: And every email, you get so many replies.
• 48:34
  SPEAKER_01: Most e-commerce companies don't get replies other than, where's my order?
• 48:37
  SPEAKER_01: What's my tracking number?
• 48:39
  SPEAKER_01: That's your email, right?
• 48:41
  SPEAKER_01: It's customer support.
• 48:42
  SPEAKER_01: Our emails are like,
• 48:43
  SPEAKER_01: Go cold.
• 48:44
  SPEAKER_01: That's amazing.
• 48:44
  SPEAKER_01: We're rooting for you.
• 48:45
  SPEAKER_01: Like, Oh, my son wore his glasses this weekend and he loved it.
• 48:48
  Like that is the true definition of community and bringing
• 48:51
  people together.
• 48:52
  SPEAKER_01: And so cable management,
• 48:53
  SPEAKER_01: going back to it,
• 48:54
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 48:54
  SPEAKER_01: are you sharing stories of like,
• 48:56
  SPEAKER_01: Hey,
• 48:56
  SPEAKER_01: I just got a picture from,
• 48:57
  SPEAKER_01: uh,
• 48:57
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 48:58
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 48:58
  SPEAKER_01: Susie last week,
• 48:59
  SPEAKER_01: she just set up her home office.
• 49:01
  SPEAKER_01: Check this out.
• 49:01
  SPEAKER_01: This is bad-ass.
• 49:02
  SPEAKER_01: We like, love it here.
• 49:03
  SPEAKER_01: It's so cool.
• 49:04
  SPEAKER_01: What,
• 49:05
  SPEAKER_01: um,
• 49:05
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 49:06
  SPEAKER_01: all you guys,
• 49:06
  SPEAKER_01: I just posted the,
• 49:07
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 49:07
  SPEAKER_01: her photo on our Instagram account.
• 49:09
  Why don't you guys go comment on Instagram and tell Susie what
• 49:11
  an amazing job that she did.
• 49:13
  SPEAKER_01: Boom, done.
• 49:14
  SPEAKER_01: And you don't have to be the best copywriter in the world.
• 49:18
  SPEAKER_01: You're just bringing people along this journey with you.
• 49:22
  SPEAKER_01: And over time, it's going to generate more sales.
• 49:24
  SPEAKER_01: It's going to generate more traffic.
• 49:25
  SPEAKER_01: It's going to build this community.
• 49:26
  SPEAKER_01: It's going to build people that really care about you.
• 49:28
  You build loyalty because you're the person that's showing them
• 49:31
  all the cool stuff.
• 49:33
  SPEAKER_01: And yes, then when you have a Memorial Day sale,
• 49:36
  Your open rate is going to be good because they've opened all
• 49:39
  your other stuff and
• 49:39
  SPEAKER_01: it's been good.
• 49:41
  SPEAKER_01: And so it breeds more and more and more goodwill into your community.
• 49:46
  SPEAKER_01: And to me, that's always going to work.
• 49:48
  SPEAKER_01: And there are not many e-commerce companies that are good at this.
• 49:51
  SPEAKER_01: Most e-commerce companies are doing the very standard marketing.
• 49:54
  You know,
• 49:54
  big,
• 49:55
  big image block,
• 49:56
  20% off,
• 49:57
  go buy,
• 49:57
  go buy now,
• 49:58
  go buy now,
• 49:58
  go buy now.
• 49:59
  SPEAKER_01: And does it work?
• 50:00
  It works until you burn that person out and you need to bring
• 50:02
  new customers in.
• 50:04
  I would rather have this customer base love me and bring new
• 50:07
  customers in.
• 50:07
  And this gets bigger and bigger as opposed to,
• 50:09
  you know,
• 50:10
  you send an email,
• 50:10
  this guy drops off.
• 50:11
  SPEAKER_01: So now I need to build a new customer.
• 50:12
  SPEAKER_01: This guy drops off.
• 50:13
  SPEAKER_01: Now I need a new customer.
• 50:14
  I would rather,
• 50:15
  you know,
• 50:16
  pile on and build an even bigger community over time.
• 50:19
  SPEAKER_00: I love it.
• 50:20
  SPEAKER_00: I love it.
• 50:20
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I mean, folks, this is the blueprint.
• 50:23
  The blueprint was just literally created in front of you,
• 50:27
  you know,
• 50:28
  from the start all the way.
• 50:29
  SPEAKER_00: And it's, you know, this makes it less complicated, right?
• 50:33
  SPEAKER_00: We talked about e-commerce being challenging.
• 50:36
  SPEAKER_00: Hopefully this blueprint will let you,
• 50:39
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 50:39
  SPEAKER_00: and again,
• 50:39
  SPEAKER_00: as Greg has said,
• 50:41
  SPEAKER_00: you cannot do it all right away,
• 50:43
  SPEAKER_00: right?
• 50:43
  SPEAKER_00: You have to focus on the important parts.
• 50:46
  Each stage of this process requires your focus to get to where
• 50:49
  you need to go.
• 50:50
  SPEAKER_00: So just in closing here,
• 50:52
  SPEAKER_00: I'd love to ask you,
• 50:53
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 50:53
  SPEAKER_00: to just give some advice,
• 50:54
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 50:55
  SPEAKER_00: to entrepreneurs.
• 50:56
  SPEAKER_00: You're, you know, you're a mindset person.
• 50:58
  SPEAKER_00: You're, you know, you talk a lot about that.
• 51:01
  Let's put,
• 51:01
  let's help put entrepreneurs in the right mindset as they start
• 51:04
  their journey.
• 51:05
  SPEAKER_00: Those of those who are just maybe,
• 51:07
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 51:07
  SPEAKER_00: it's just idea time and that's all,
• 51:09
  SPEAKER_00: that's the only place they are.
• 51:10
  SPEAKER_00: What are your thoughts on that?
• 51:11
  Yeah,
• 51:12
  so every morning,
• 51:13
  I use,
• 51:13
  I'm old school,
• 51:14
  I use an app called Evernote.
• 51:15
  Everybody's got like sexier note-taking apps these days,
• 51:17
  like Notion or whatever that they use.
• 51:19
  SPEAKER_01: But I still use Evernote and I open it up every single morning.
• 51:23
  SPEAKER_01: And the first thing I read is about the people I serve.
• 51:28
  SPEAKER_01: And I think it's flipping your mindset to being product centric,
• 51:31
  to being market and community centric and caring about the
• 51:34
  people on the other side.
• 51:35
  SPEAKER_01: And by you not taking action today,
• 51:38
  I'm doing my community and market a disservice because if I
• 51:41
  don't sell a couple of
• 51:42
  SPEAKER_01: products today,
• 51:43
  SPEAKER_01: I don't care.
• 51:44
  But if I didn't help a little kid get those sunglasses on and
• 51:47
  know when he puts
• 51:47
  SPEAKER_01: them on,
• 51:48
  SPEAKER_01: he's blocking out distractions.
• 51:49
  He's ready to go in the box and he's going to have a hell of a
• 51:51
  good game today.
• 51:52
  SPEAKER_01: I'm hurting my community by not doing the work.
• 51:55
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 51:56
  SPEAKER_01: And so, you know, for Gromit every day, I do it for the makers.
• 51:59
  SPEAKER_01: I do it for the hundreds and hundreds of makers who are just like,
• 52:01
  SPEAKER_01: Greg,
• 52:01
  I've been on Shopify for six months and I can't make a goddamn
• 52:04
  sale to like save my life.
• 52:06
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm like, I'm fighting for you because I know what it's like.
• 52:09
  SPEAKER_01: I've got inventory.
• 52:09
  SPEAKER_01: I've got boxes and boxes of inventory.
• 52:11
  Like I know what it's like to be that person who is struggling
• 52:15
  to get that early momentum.
• 52:16
  SPEAKER_01: I'm fighting for you.
• 52:17
  And so if you're an e-commerce entrepreneur,
• 52:19
  you're at the beginning of the journey.
• 52:20
  SPEAKER_01: Think about the people in the community that you want to help.
• 52:23
  And I've been community centric,
• 52:24
  like I've been talking about this the whole episode.
• 52:25
  SPEAKER_01: That's why building a public is so important.
• 52:27
  SPEAKER_01: Getting into these communities is so important.
• 52:28
  SPEAKER_01: Care about the person that your product goes to and you will do the work.
• 52:33
  SPEAKER_01: It's putting your mission over your ego.
• 52:34
  SPEAKER_01: It's putting your mission over, you know, your laziness.
• 52:37
  It's putting the mission over whatever excuse you're telling
• 52:40
  yourself that you
• 52:40
  SPEAKER_01: don't want to do it today.
• 52:41
  But that mission and the people you serve has to be at the
• 52:44
  forefront of what it is
• 52:45
  SPEAKER_01: that you do because look,
• 52:47
  SPEAKER_01: There's some days I don't want to get up.
• 52:49
  SPEAKER_01: I don't want to do the thing, but I got people counting on me.
• 52:51
  SPEAKER_01: And to me,
• 52:52
  that is so important is the people that I serve are more
• 52:55
  important than my ego,
• 52:57
  SPEAKER_01: than my laziness,
• 52:58
  SPEAKER_01: than my,
• 52:59
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 53:00
  SPEAKER_01: whatever excuse that I'm going to make for the day.
• 53:02
  SPEAKER_01: Because I know that if someone,
• 53:03
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 53:04
  SPEAKER_01: signs up for Gromit,
• 53:05
  SPEAKER_01: I know if someone buys my sunglasses,
• 53:06
  SPEAKER_01: I know if there's a little kid that I'm coaching today,
• 53:09
  SPEAKER_01: like...
• 53:10
  someone is counting on me to be the person that they needed to
• 53:13
  be the best version
• 53:14
  SPEAKER_01: of myself so that they could get what they needed in their life.
• 53:16
  And I don't know,
• 53:17
  hopefully that makes sense,
• 53:18
  but I just,
• 53:19
  I believe in it so much.
• 53:20
  SPEAKER_01: And I think early stage, we care so much.
• 53:22
  SPEAKER_01: We just care about our product and our product and our product.
• 53:24
  SPEAKER_01: But if you care about the person on the other end of it,
• 53:26
  SPEAKER_01: like I care about making this interview,
• 53:28
  SPEAKER_01: the best freaking interview it can be.
• 53:29
  SPEAKER_01: That's why we did a pre-call.
• 53:30
  SPEAKER_01: I freaking, I got, I got notes over here.
• 53:32
  SPEAKER_01: Like I,
• 53:33
  SPEAKER_01: because I want to serve,
• 53:34
  SPEAKER_01: like I want someone to listen to this episode and be like,
• 53:37
  SPEAKER_01: gosh,
• 53:37
  SPEAKER_01: Darn it.
• 53:38
  SPEAKER_01: Greg killed it today.
• 53:38
  SPEAKER_01: He helped me.
• 53:40
  SPEAKER_01: That means more to me than like me, not me wearing a baseball hat today.
• 53:43
  SPEAKER_01: I'm so glad you wore one too.
• 53:44
  Cause I'm like,
• 53:45
  you know,
• 53:45
  it's supposed to be like super professional and all this stuff.
• 53:47
  SPEAKER_01: I'm wearing a yellow baseball hat.
• 53:48
  This is a,
• 53:49
  this is a hat hat wearing podcast,
• 53:51
  but I love the serve,
• 53:52
  you know?
• 53:52
  SPEAKER_00: Um,
• 53:53
  SPEAKER_00: and you know,
• 53:54
  SPEAKER_00: we,
• 53:54
  SPEAKER_00: we serve a lot of the same,
• 53:55
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 53:55
  SPEAKER_00: people out there,
• 53:57
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 53:57
  SPEAKER_00: that,
• 53:57
  that emerging e-commerce entrepreneur is in many ways not paid
• 54:01
  attention to,
• 54:02
  SPEAKER_00: um,
• 54:03
  SPEAKER_00: in this day and age.
• 54:04
  SPEAKER_00: It's more about the,
• 54:05
  SPEAKER_00: you're at six figures,
• 54:07
  SPEAKER_00: let me get you to seven figures and eight and plus,
• 54:09
  SPEAKER_00: and let's go there.
• 54:09
  SPEAKER_00: That's where, because e-commerce has matured along the way.
• 54:12
  SPEAKER_00: And I understand that,
• 54:13
  SPEAKER_00: and I'm not faulting that,
• 54:15
  SPEAKER_00: but I think somebody who is,
• 54:17
  SPEAKER_00: as you said,
• 54:18
  SPEAKER_00: on Shopify for the last six months and hasn't had a sale,
• 54:21
  SPEAKER_00: they need help.
• 54:22
  SPEAKER_00: They need a strategy.
• 54:24
  SPEAKER_00: They don't need a handout.
• 54:25
  SPEAKER_00: They need a game plan.
• 54:26
  SPEAKER_00: They need encouragement.
• 54:28
  SPEAKER_00: They need advice, information, all those things.
• 54:30
  SPEAKER_00: And what you brought today,
• 54:31
  SPEAKER_00: the blueprint,
• 54:32
  SPEAKER_00: that was the purpose of this was to help that,
• 54:35
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 54:36
  SPEAKER_00: some of you are maybe further along in the process.
• 54:38
  SPEAKER_00: Some of you are at the beginning of the process.
• 54:40
  SPEAKER_00: Wherever you are, slot yourself into the blueprint.
• 54:44
  SPEAKER_00: Study it.
• 54:45
  SPEAKER_00: As Greg said, focus hard on what you need to do.
• 54:48
  And you can do a lot of it at low to no cost and not look to
• 54:53
  spend tons of money.
• 54:53
  SPEAKER_00: At some point,
• 54:54
  SPEAKER_00: yes,
• 54:55
  you will need to roll out some dollars to Zuckerberg and family
• 54:59
  and put some money
• 55:00
  SPEAKER_00: out there.
• 55:00
  SPEAKER_00: But right now, you can do a lot of this without it.
• 55:03
  SPEAKER_00: So I appreciate everything you've put in there,
• 55:06
  but I have one more question for you because this is a question
• 55:09
  around the topic of
• 55:11
  AI because so many of our emerging e-commerce entrepreneurs are
• 55:14
  enthralled with it,
• 55:15
  SPEAKER_00: maybe frightened by it.
• 55:16
  SPEAKER_00: They don't know what's going on.
• 55:18
  And whether you use it or not,
• 55:20
  I'm sure you've dabbled in it at least a little bit.
• 55:23
  I'd love to know one thing that you've done on AI recently that
• 55:28
  made you stop and say,
• 55:30
  SPEAKER_00: wow,
• 55:31
  SPEAKER_00: I can't believe it did that.
• 55:33
  SPEAKER_01: Man, there's actually a lot.
• 55:35
  SPEAKER_01: So we use it daily at The Gromit to test headlines, email copy, all this.
• 55:42
  We usually have humans do the initial work and then have AI do
• 55:46
  the editing for us.
• 55:47
  SPEAKER_01: That's a lot of what it is that we do.
• 55:49
  SPEAKER_01: I'll say this.
• 55:49
  SPEAKER_01: So my partner over at The Gromit,
• 55:53
  SPEAKER_01: Eric Schechter,
• 55:54
  SPEAKER_01: and I,
• 55:54
  SPEAKER_01: we're getting ready to start our own podcast.
• 55:56
  SPEAKER_01: And right now we're going to do a season.
• 55:58
  And the first season is all going to be about the biggest
• 56:00
  challenges and roadblocks
• 56:01
  SPEAKER_01: that early stage e-commerce entrepreneurs have.
• 56:04
  So every episode is going to be a specific challenge,
• 56:06
  roadblock,
• 56:07
  whatever it is.
• 56:08
  And I just went into chat to EBT and I was like,
• 56:11
  hey,
• 56:12
  we're starting this.
• 56:13
  SPEAKER_01: We're doing like literally what I just said.
• 56:14
  SPEAKER_01: Give me the top 15 things that we should be talking about.
• 56:18
  SPEAKER_01: And it spit out the best answers.
• 56:21
  SPEAKER_01: I was like, holy crap, you nailed it.
• 56:22
  SPEAKER_01: Rising customer acquisition costs, too much competition.
• 56:25
  SPEAKER_01: I was like, perfect.
• 56:26
  SPEAKER_01: Now,
• 56:26
  SPEAKER_01: for each one of these,
• 56:28
  SPEAKER_01: outline an episode with,
• 56:30
  SPEAKER_01: I want an intro,
• 56:31
  SPEAKER_01: I want a beginning,
• 56:31
  SPEAKER_01: a middle,
• 56:32
  SPEAKER_01: and an end,
• 56:32
  SPEAKER_01: and I want,
• 56:32
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 56:33
  SPEAKER_01: and I was like,
• 56:34
  SPEAKER_01: Holy crap.
• 56:35
  SPEAKER_01: And then I sent that over to Eric and I'm like, here's our first episode.
• 56:38
  It was just,
• 56:39
  it was,
• 56:40
  and then even going deeper from there in the intro,
• 56:43
  I was like,
• 56:43
  cool.
• 56:44
  SPEAKER_01: Now write five questions that I could ask Eric about to start it.
• 56:47
  SPEAKER_01: Now write five questions about this beginning piece.
• 56:49
  SPEAKER_01: Now write five.
• 56:50
  SPEAKER_01: And I had the whole interview basically for me and I was like, oh my God.
• 56:53
  SPEAKER_01: And five minutes of work.
• 56:55
  SPEAKER_01: And I was like, holy crap.
• 56:56
  SPEAKER_01: We have the whole first season.
• 56:57
  SPEAKER_01: This would have taken me like three days to do as a human.
• 57:01
  SPEAKER_01: or longer.
• 57:01
  And I would have procrastinated and done all the things I just
• 57:03
  told you guys not to do.
• 57:05
  SPEAKER_01: And so,
• 57:06
  SPEAKER_01: yeah,
• 57:06
  I was just blown away that I'm blown away all the time with
• 57:10
  what I can do,
• 57:11
  but it's just finding these day-to-day practical things and
• 57:15
  knowing that it's not
• 57:15
  SPEAKER_01: the replacement for everything,
• 57:16
  SPEAKER_01: but can it enhance what it is that you're doing?
• 57:18
  SPEAKER_01: Hey, here's an idea for a video that I have.
• 57:20
  SPEAKER_01: Can you edit it to make it better?
• 57:23
  SPEAKER_01: What should be the intro to this video?
• 57:24
  SPEAKER_01: I've been using it a lot for
• 57:26
  SPEAKER_01: my TikTok videos where I'm just like, here's the idea for the video.
• 57:29
  Can you spit out 10 opening hooks or opening lines for the
• 57:32
  video that would engage
• 57:33
  SPEAKER_01: someone to make them want to watch the rest?
• 57:35
  SPEAKER_01: And it just spits out.
• 57:36
  SPEAKER_01: And is it perfect?
• 57:37
  SPEAKER_01: No, but I wouldn't be able to come up with those ideas on my own.
• 57:40
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 57:41
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I think, you know, back to the media company, right?
• 57:44
  SPEAKER_00: We need,
• 57:45
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 57:45
  you've got to create content in your media company and it's a
• 57:48
  lot of work to create content.
• 57:50
  So using AI and it's why I like to end on that last question
• 57:54
  because it's such an
• 57:55
  SPEAKER_00: important part now has become a very important part of every business and
• 57:59
  especially a business that is looking to create content ongoing
• 58:02
  every single day
• 58:03
  SPEAKER_00: because it is a challenge to do that.
• 58:05
  SPEAKER_00: So Greg, thank you very much for coming on today.
• 58:09
  SPEAKER_00: I love this idea of building a blueprint.
• 58:11
  SPEAKER_00: It is so, so important.
• 58:14
  The community that's part of the group that's part of the
• 58:17
  e-commerce revolution,
• 58:18
  SPEAKER_00: it is a revolution,
• 58:21
  SPEAKER_00: honestly.
• 58:21
  And I feel like every time we think that e-commerce has reached
• 58:25
  that pinnacle,
• 58:26
  SPEAKER_00: no,
• 58:26
  we're going a whole new batch are coming in and building
• 58:29
  something and figuring out.
• 58:30
  SPEAKER_00: So the blueprint is so, so important.
• 58:33
  SPEAKER_00: to this process.
• 58:34
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe just take a minute and just tell,
• 58:36
  SPEAKER_00: tell the audience again,
• 58:37
  SPEAKER_00: we're going to have links to all the,
• 58:39
  SPEAKER_00: um,
• 58:39
  SPEAKER_00: everything that we discussed in the show notes,
• 58:41
  but let everybody know how they can find you and how they can
• 58:44
  reach out to the
• 58:45
  SPEAKER_00: grommet and all that good stuff.
• 58:49
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I'm real simple.
• 58:49
  SPEAKER_01: I'm Greg Roulette everywhere.
• 58:51
  Twitter,
• 58:51
  LinkedIn,
• 58:51
  Instagram,
• 58:53
  probably three of the best places to find me right now.
• 58:56
  SPEAKER_01: If you are at the stage where you have product,
• 58:58
  SPEAKER_01: you have inventory,
• 58:59
  SPEAKER_01: you're on Shopify and you're hanging out in this community,
• 59:03
  SPEAKER_01: you're part of this revolution.
• 59:04
  I want you on the grommet and we will help you get that early
• 59:08
  stage momentum.
• 59:08
  SPEAKER_01: There is no cost.
• 59:09
  SPEAKER_01: There's no upfront fees, no nothing.
• 59:11
  We don't even charge commission the first seven days you're on
• 59:13
  the platform.
• 59:14
  SPEAKER_01: We called it launch week.
• 59:15
  SPEAKER_01: It's the most exciting week, you know, in a startup founder.
• 59:19
  SPEAKER_01: They just absolutely love it.
• 59:20
  SPEAKER_01: Just head over to the grommet.com right at the top.
• 59:22
  SPEAKER_01: There's a giant button that says, submit your product.
• 59:24
  SPEAKER_01: It takes like two seconds,
• 59:25
  SPEAKER_01: integrate your,
• 59:26
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 59:26
  it's a Shopify app that you integrate and then you build out a
• 59:28
  product page,
• 59:29
  SPEAKER_01: but.
• 59:30
  SPEAKER_01: you know, let me help you get that early stage traction.
• 59:32
  SPEAKER_01: Let me,
• 59:32
  SPEAKER_01: it's not a handout because your product has to speak,
• 59:34
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 59:35
  SPEAKER_01: your product has to be great.
• 59:36
  The community has to want your product,
• 59:37
  but it will help you to generate some momentum.
• 59:40
  SPEAKER_01: And anyone who comes from this podcast,
• 59:43
  SPEAKER_01: from your community,
• 59:43
  SPEAKER_01: who's part of this revolution,
• 59:45
  SPEAKER_01: I want to help them with every ounce of,
• 59:49
  SPEAKER_01: of blood,
• 59:49
  SPEAKER_01: sweat,
• 59:49
  SPEAKER_01: and tears that we have over at the grommet.
• 59:51
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah,
• 59:51
  head to the grommet.com and let's put you in front of a couple
• 59:54
  million shoppers and,
• 59:55
  SPEAKER_01: and put your product to the test.
• 59:57
  SPEAKER_00: Great.
• 59:58
  SPEAKER_00: That's awesome.
• 59:58
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you again for coming on today.
• 1:00:01
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 1:00:01
  SPEAKER_01: Had a blast.
• 1:00:02
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks for having me.
• 1:00:04
  All right,
• 1:00:05
  that brings us to the end of another episode of the e-commerce
• 1:00:08
  revolution podcast.
• 1:00:09
  SPEAKER_00: Don't forget to check out past episodes,
• 1:00:12
  which are all available on demand on YouTube and wherever you
• 1:00:16
  listen to your podcast.
• 1:00:17
  SPEAKER_00: Ready to join the revolution?
• 1:00:19
  SPEAKER_00: Become an exclusive part of our growing community of emerging e-commerce
• 1:00:23
  SPEAKER_00: entrepreneurs at ecomrevolution.co.
• 1:00:27
  SPEAKER_00: Until next time, see ya.